Cameroon recorded its first case of Coronavirus on March 6, 2020. Eleven days later, the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Joseph DION NGUTE, announced 13 barrier measures taken in order to contain the spread of this disease on Cameroonian territory; in particular the closure of borders with neighbouring countries. This measure had an immediate effect on the Institute’s baseline survey on cross-border trade in goods in Cameroon. The field data collection phase that started on March 10 of the current year was suspended on March 18, one day after the PM’s statement.
As a reminder, this operation carried out under the supervision of the INS mainly aims to improve the quality of foreign trade in goods statistics, through a better consideration of informal exchanges with countries bordering Cameroon; especially those with whom it shares its land and sea borders. The scope of the study is limited to 7 out of 10 regions. These are precisely the Far North, the North, Adamawa, the East, the Littoral, the North-West and the South-West; i.e. 14 departments and 20 districts to be explored by the fifty-five (55) investigating agents of the Institute. The latter had previously received a three-day training from February 24 to 26, 2020, in order to better understand the objectives of this study as well as the data collection methodology to be used in the field, with a view to being able to gather the necessary information.
In this collection process, two types of statistical units are taken into account. On the one hand, the primary unit, which is the point of passage for goods, i.e. the place where a product enters and leaves; and on the other hand, the secondary unit that constitutes the flow. The results of the study will provide an up-to-date database on cross-border trade, an estimate of the volume and value of trade, as well as an analysis report on informal cross-border transactions. The investigation, which was initially supposed to last 22 days, lasted only 08 days before being stopped. It remains interrupted for the moment until further notice.
Ache Goygoy