Health Crisis Can Affect Timber-Processing Activities: A Case of COVID-19 in the South Region of Cameroon

Abstract: The COVID-19 health crisis has affected several sectors of activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the early socio-economic impacts of this crisis on wood processing companies (WPC) in the South region of Cameroon. Thus, six WPCs in the region, justifying at least five years of activity before the pandemic began, with a minimum of 10 employees and a production exceeding 1000 m3/year, were surveyed. This study reveals that in just one year after its onset, the crisis caused a suspension of 20% of foreign contracts, a decrease in production of approximately 33% for first-category WPCs, as well as a reduction of 15 to 20% in the prices of processed wood and of 20 to 50% in revenues within these companies. To cope with this situation, some WPCs reduced their employees by 29.42%, eliminating up to 243 jobs. The closure of borders appears to be the main consequence of COVID-19 affecting these WPCs. Indeed, the analysis of the marketing circuits of processed wood showed that 92% of the production from this region is intended for export, of which 33% is exported to China. This strong dependence of the wood sector to international trade justifies the significant impact of COVID-19 on the WPCs in the South region of Cameroon, highlighting the need to promote domestic and sub-regional wood trade.