CEMAC Import Ledger

Fashion reselling, from China to Cameroon

New clothing and accessories sourced from China — a different business than Okrika (second-hand bales, usually from the US or UK). Here’s the real landed cost before you place a bulk order.

Landed cost / unit — Cameroon

4 225 FCFA

$7.41

Cleared

Margin at your resale price

1 775 FCFA(29.6%)

Break even at 4 225 FCFA · total order 633 766 FCFA

Where your money goes

Goods 54%Freight 15%Duty 14%VAT 16%Levies 2%
$

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

$
FCFA
%
%
%

Luxury goods & vehicles only

$

Clearing agent, transport

VAT for Cameroon: 17.5% VAT plus a 10% additional council surcharge = 19.25% effective. Changing the destination country resets VAT to that country's standard rate.

Goods value (FOB)$600.00
Freight$160.00
Insurance (0.5%)$3.00
CIF — customs valuation basis$763.00
Customs duty (20%)Category III — Consumer goods$152.60
Computer fee (redevance informatique) (1%)$7.63
CEMAC community integration tax (TCI) (1%)$7.63
African integration contribution (CIA) (0.2%)$1.53
VAT (19.25%)charged on duty-inclusive value$179.48
Total landed cost$1111.87
Per unit4 225 FCFA

20% margin

5 281 FCFA

30% margin

6 036 FCFA

40% margin

7 042 FCFA

50% margin

8 450 FCFA

Margin here is on the selling price, not markup on cost. A 40% margin means 40% of what the customer pays is yours before your own selling costs.

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Three things that catch fashion & apparel importers out

Sizing runs differently than expected

Chinese apparel sizing frequently runs smaller than what Cameroonian customers expect from the size label. Order a sample run before committing to bulk, and price in margin for exchanges — this is one of the most common sources of reseller returns.

Photos and reality can diverge

Fabric weight and stitching quality are the two things product photos hide best. A supplier sample order, even a slightly expensive one, is usually cheaper than discovering a quality problem after 150 units have landed.

New apparel sits in the 20% duty bracket

New clothing is typically Category III under the CEMAC tariff. This is separate from second-hand clothing (Okrika), which is handled under different rules entirely.

Other product categories

Same calculator, pre-loaded with realistic numbers and the import gotchas for each category.

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Other CEMAC destinations

All six CEMAC states share the same customs duty brackets — VAT and local fees differ.

Cameroon import duty & tax guide

Every levy explained — duty brackets, VAT, SGS inspection, community taxes.

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