Cameroon may replace imported flour with Cassava, mai ze and sweet potatoes which could be used with wheat flour in proportions in bre a d making, officials disclosed to PANA after their meeting with bakers.
These materials, which could be used in proportions of between 5 and 15 per cent with wheat flour, are being considered the necessary raw materials in bread mak i ng to reduce the import cost of wheat flour, officials of the Trade Ministry and
bakers said.
According to ministry officials, Cameroon spends over 10 billion CFA francs on t he importation of over 60 tonnes of flour.
Since 2008, the price of a kilogramme of wheat flour has risen from 250 to 375 F CFA.
The Bakers’ Association had already experimented with the use of the raw materia ls which, it said, yielded encouraging results in 2000.
“But the government has not given its consent for us to make this official,” sai d the Association chairman, Jean-Claude Yepmo.
In the country’s south-western and north-western English-speaking regions, bread is baked with a mixture of potato and flour and this is popular with Francophon e populations.
According to Yepmo, the problem that may arise is the availability of raw materi als.
Cameroonian Trade Minister, Luc Magloire, indicated that the production of bread with local raw materials would start in May, when the country could be celebrat i ng its 50th independence and reunification anniversary.
