CDC Hit By World Economic Crisis – GM

Njalla Quan was speaking at the Corporation’s Bota Senior Service Club where his workers offered him New Year Wishes. He said while the product’s price in the market has already dropped by half, the ware houses of the CDC were currently being stocked with produced rubber that nobody is readily available to buy.

"In December, the Board approve our budget, which was an ambitious one. Six weeks after, our main export crop, rubber, suffered a big blow," Njalla said. "Today, our ware houses are being filled with rubber ready for export but there is no buyer. And even the little we are exporting is going now at almost half the price," he added.The GM explained that most of their buyers, tyre or car manufacturing companies around the world that have been gravely affected by the economic malaise.

The dwindling market situation not withstanding, the GM urged his workers to sit up, for CDC will take the challenge to get on. He said their drive to expand the Corporation is on course and that in addition to the opening up of new rubber and palm plantations, CDC was also on course to start off new banana farms.

According to him, following a request from government for the Corporation to increase the tonnage produced by Cameroon from 250,000 to 400,000, by this same time next year, CDC’s new bananas shall have been in the market.

It is worth noting that the drop in the world prices for rubber is coming at a time when CDC has embarked on developing 6,000 hectares of new rubber farms in the Matouke and Pendaboko Rubber Estates area as well as 6,000 hectares of new oil palm farms in the Boa plain.

The GM urged CDC employees to work harder so that they together can be able to create opportunities that can help absorb some of Cameroon‘s unemployed youths. He disclosed that recently several youths have already been at the CDC head office where they indicated their interest to work in the new banana plantation.

Workers Thank GM

The workers used the New Year Wishes ceremony to thank the GM for what he has been doing for the past ten years to move CDC ahead.

Chief Emmanuel Etina Monono, on behalf of the workers, said they were gratified. While noting that the global financial crisis was taking toll on the Corporation, Chief Etina said he was convinced that the measures being put in place by Njalla Quan were going to take CDC out of the situation with very minimal economic bruises.