Cameroon cuts growth forecast, power problems loom

* Growth forecast cut twice this month

* Commodities unsold as international demand shrinks

* Energy shortage main barrier to industrial expansion

By Tansa Musa

YAOUNDE, April 14 (Reuters) - Cameroon has cut its 2009 growth forecast for the second time this month as commodity exporters watch unsold goods pile up and the government grapples with an energy crisis, officials say.

The country's Finance Minister Lazarre Essimi said late last week that growth would decline to 2.5 percent this year, down from a 3 percent government forecast given by the prime minister at the start of April.

The government had envisaged 4 percent growth when the budget was prepared late last year and was predicting 2009 growth of 6-6.5 percent before that.

A committee set up by Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni to tackle the impact of the financial crisis on Cameroon has identified the woefully inadequate power generation sector as key to avoiding a vicious cycle of lower output and lower revenue.