Back to Top Mining and Manufacturing One of the largest single industrial enterprises in Cameroon is the aluminum smelting plant at Ed a, which produces about 92,000 metric tons annually from imported bauxite. Offshore petroleum exploitation began in the late 1970s, and an oil refinery has been built on the coast at Limboh Point. Cameroon's output of crude petroleum, mostly for export, reached 61 million barrels a year during the early 1990s. Small amounts of gold and tin concentrates are also produced. An exchange rate of 50 CFA francs equal to 1 French franc was in force until 1994, when the CFA franc was devalued by 50 percent.
Unpaved roads are frequently impassable during the rainy season.
The port of Garoua on the Benue River in the north is open two to three months a year and handles most of the trade with Nigeria. Cameroon Airlines provides domestic and international service. The national radio and television broadcasting system has its headquarters at Yaound and local radio stations in Douala, Garoua, and Buea. 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.