Chicken worth more than $600 million is regularly dumped on the Ghanaian market.
This has made matters worse for Ghana’s poultry business, which is already in trouble due to a lack of laws to prevent chicken from being dumped on the market.
Victor Oppong, National Chairman of the Poultry Farmers Association, voiced concern that local players may be forced out of business at a hearing over claims of chicken importation made by the Ghana International Trade Commission.
“Every year, we receive 600,000 metric tonnes of frozen chicken, or 569 million birds, with a market worth of $600 million. We claim that imports are causing the poultry business to collapse and are exerting additional pressure on the local currency.
It indicates that even though we can make agreements to obtain poultry products locally, we need to hunt for more than $600 million to buy them.
The Ghana International Trade Commission seeks to find an amicable solution to unfair trade practices that has been a hindrance to many Ghanaian businesses including the poultry industry.
The investigation of dumping of poultry products is influenced by widespread agitations from local players regarding loss of jobs and quality of products onto the market.
According to myjoyonline.com, Frank Agyekum, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, believed that the hearing would help in curbing all forms of unfair trade practices in the poultry value chain and promote healthy competition among the players.
