A Chinese state-linked company wants to invest about CFA88 billion in sugar and rice production in Batouri, in Cameroon's East Region, but nothing has been signed. Nanning Agricultural Development Group, controlled by the public authorities of the city of Nanning, is still looking for a firm to carry out a feasibility study, according to Business in Cameroon and Cameroun24.
Key takeaways
- Proposed investment: about CFA88 billion for sugar and rice at Batouri.
- Reported scale: a 60,000-tonne-a-year sugar plant and about 6,667 hectares, per Cameroun24.
- No agreement is signed, and the feasibility study has not been commissioned.
- Batouri has seen sugar plans before, including a CFA60 billion project with a planned 2014 start.
The pitch
The reported plan combines a sugar factory with rice plantations. Nanning Agricultural Development Group has said it is considering the investment and wants a specialised firm to test whether it can work. That makes this an expression of interest, not a financing decision.
Batouri's earlier attempt
The East Region town has been here before. In April 2012, the government granted exclusive rights for a Batouri sugar complex to Justin Sugar Mills, an Indo-Cameroonian company. The project was valued at CFA60 billion and was meant to be operational from January 2014, with 32,000 hectares of sugar cane. When it ran into difficulties, the state launched a tender in November 2014 for a private investor to take over a 60,000-tonne complex. The new Chinese proposal covers a similar tonnage.
Other sugar and rice projects on the table
The Batouri idea is one of several. Cameroonian entrepreneur Nassourou Issa's Nasco Group launched a $100 million sugar refinery project, about CFA58 billion, in July 2026, aiming for output of 300,000 tons a year by 2028, according to Business in Cameroon. The group has secured financing from Société Générale and CCA-Bank to begin civil works, according to Food Business Africa.
On rice, Cameroon signed a €150 million export-credit-backed deal in March 2026 with Israeli agribusiness firm Ekobell for three agro-poles in the north. The projections cited are 46,700 tons of paddy rice, about 31,289 tons of milled rice, around 18% of current high-quality milled output, involving about 8,000 farmers. Rice imports cost CFA200.8 billion in 2023, according to the National Institute of Statistics.
What to watch
Three things will show whether Batouri moves beyond a press story: the award of a feasibility study, a land agreement for the roughly 6,667 hectares, and a financing structure. Local sugar cane growers and rice farmers should ask what offtake and outgrower terms are on offer before any land is committed.
Frequently asked questions
Has the Batouri sugar project been approved?
No. The company is considering the investment and is still seeking a firm to do a feasibility study.
How big is the proposed plant?
Cameroun24 reports a 60,000-tonne-a-year sugar plant and about 6,667 hectares.
