Crashing demand for cotton as the global recession cuts into consumer spending risks putting farmers in Cameroon out of business, growers and officials say. Buyers are tearing up their contracts with the state cotton firm, leaving the company out of pocket and farmers in the central African who depend on cotton for their income worried for their livelihoods.
"Because of the international financial crisis, some of our clients have gone so bankrupt that they can no more respect the orders they placed West and Central Africa have slashed crop forecasts for 2008/09, blaming bad weather and high fertiliser costs.
African growers also say they are disadvantaged by the state subsidies given to cotton farmers in the United States. The Washington-based International Cotton Advisory Committee has said "market distortions" are an additional burden for farmers on the continent.