CEMAC Import Ledger

What will it actually cost you, landed?

Source from China, land it in Cameroon, know your real margin before you wire a single dollar. Built for the buyam-sellam economy — not a generic shipping quote.

$
$
%

Electronics, fashion, beauty, home goods (most resale items)

%
%

Landed cost / unit

3 238 FCFA

$5.68

Margin at your resale price

1 762 FCFA (35.2%)

Cleared

Where the landed cost goes

Goods 53%Freight+ins 16%Duty 14%VAT 16%Misc fees 1%

Resale price for a target margin

20% margin

4 047 FCFA

30% margin

4 626 FCFA

40% margin

5 397 FCFA

50% margin

6 476 FCFA

The CEMAC common external tariff

Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Congo, CAR, and Equatorial Guinea share this bracket structure — the duty logic below applies across all six, though VAT and local fees still vary by country.

5%

Category I — Essentials

Medicines, books, agricultural inputs

10%

Category II — Raw & industrial

Raw materials, industrial equipment

20%

Category III — Consumer goods

Electronics, fashion, beauty, home goods (most resale items)

30%

Category IV — Non-essential

Perfumes, vehicles, premium/luxury goods

Why landed cost, not just shipping cost

Most shipping quotes stop at freight. But freight is rarely the biggest line item once your goods clear Douala port — customs duty and VAT together usually cost more than getting the container across the ocean. If you price your resale off the freight quote alone, you find out the real number after you have already committed the capital.

This calculator adds the pieces most quotes leave out: the CEMAC duty bracket for your product category, Cameroon's effective 19.25% VAT (charged on duty-inclusive value, not just the goods), and typical handling fees — then shows you the resale price you actually need for a healthy margin.