Mr Allan Kyerematen, Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, said that the country spent GH6.874 billion on rice imports from 2017 to 2020.
He went on to say that over the same time period, the country imported the following foods:
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Fish – GH₵3.993 billion
Chicken (processed)-GH1.881 billion
Meat – GH₵487 million
Vegetables – GH₵281million
Poultry – GH₵184 million
The Minister made the revelation when he stood before Parliament to answer a question from Mr Murtala Muhammed Ibrahim, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, on how much the government spent on rice and other food imports in the last four years.
In response to a query on whether the government had eased a ban on small rice importers, Mr Kyeremanten said rice was a basic food in Ghana and that a careful balance had to be maintained between the quantity of rice produced locally and what was imported to avoid major shortages.
Mr Kyeremanten emphasized that the government has not abolished the prohibition on small rice importers, but that the Ministry has a management mechanism in place to guarantee that there are no shortages.
He explained that the Ministry would review its position on rice imports when there was significant local rice production in the country.
