Efforts to curb importation of foreign products and promote the consumption of locally produced commodities are underway as the Bank of Ghana has withdrawn foreign exchange support for importation of what it describes as “non-essential” goods.

These goods include rice, vegetable oils,poultry, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, etc.

The measure is in line with  a directive issued by the President at his recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy, on Sunday 30th October, 2022, an electronic message from the Bank of Ghana to the banks said.

During the address the President mentioned that the Bank of Ghana will no longer provide FX support for the imports of rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non-critical goods”.

Although this was recently announced by the Bank of Ghana, reports indicate that the withdrawal took effect about three weeks ago.

“Please be advised and act accordingly”, the message added.

According to research by the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF), more than 600,000 tonnes of frozen chicken were imported into the country in 2021.

The data, sourced from the European Union (EU), indicated that 569 million pieces of frozen chicken were imported into the country last year, translating into $600 million.

This represented 98% of chicken consumed in the country.

Also, in 2018, President of Association Ghana Industry, Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi, disclosed that GHC 18 million worth of toothpicks were imported from China into the country in 2017 for its hospitality industry. This figure he said was recorded from January 2017 to December 2017.

Considering the high numbers of imports of these products, this policy has been touted as one that will help reduce the country’s exposure to imports.

It will also subsequently reduce the high demand for US dollars and other major foreign currencies, and consequently slow down the rapid depreciation of the cedi.

Source: The Independent Ghana