African Manager reports that a consignment of three million counterfeit matchboxes has been seized at the port of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon. The cargo, with an estimated retail value of 60 million cfa, was smuggled in 40-foot containers from Asia. According to one Cameroonian customs officer:
"What caught our attention is that the matchboxes carried the logo and features of UNALOR - which was made in Cameroon. We could not understand how matchboxes made in Cameroon could be imported here".When the happy day comes that Cameroon can profitably outsource the manufacture of its matchboxes to other nations with lower production costs, the importation of legitimate UNALOR matchboxes might become quite normal. Till then, it's good to know that the local customs officials have their wits about them.
