Ghana loses US$36 million in 2 years due to ban on export of vegetables
Ghana lost about US$36 million in foreign exchange as a result of
a ban on some vegetable exports into the European Union (EU) market
between 2015 and 2017, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has said.
According to the ministry, Ghana was making about US$18 million per
annum out of the vegetable exports before the ban which was as a result
of non-compliance with EU standards on the export of vegetables.
Nonetheless, the ministry has given assurances that revenue from the
export of the vegetables will increase following the lifting of the ban
from January 2018.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, made
this known when he officially announced the lifting of the ban by the EU
in Accra on Wednesday, saying ‘’the ban will not be extended on
expiration on December 31, 2017.”
The five vegetables which were affected by the ban included capsicum
(chilies), solanum species-aubergines (egg plant), momordica (bitter
gourd), luffa (vegetable sponge) and lagenaria (bottle gourd).
The EU banned the vegetables from Ghana after an audit undertaken by
the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety of the European
Commission detected a high number of interceptions of harmful organisms
on some plant products from Ghana.
How ban was reversed
In its quest to reverse the ban, the minister said urgent measures
were put in place to ensure that Ghana complied with the conditions
stipulated by the EU, including a task force to oversee the activities.
He mentioned a register of all exporters of plant and regulated plant
products and their outgrowers, development of commodity specific and
pest specific fact sheets for use by inspectors and importers as part of
those measures. Other measures included working with partners to
improve and provide new inspection facilities and equipment at the
Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
Additionally, he said technical training for plant inspectors with
hands-on training to build their capacities were held, as well as field
trials in locations considered the hotspots for the pests. The standard
operating procedures were also enforced.
The lifting of the ban is a testimony to the urgency attached to
addressing this problem, he said, and added that ”we need to also
recognise the need to maintain the standards we have set for ourselves.”
The EU statement
The EU in a statement issued in Accra last week said: “Since the
beginning of the ban in October 2015, the Ghanaian authorities have
taken significant corrective measures to improve the inspection and
control system for plant health at exit points, particularly, at Kotoka
International Airport.”
“The European Commission congratulates Ghana for reaching this
important milestone and encourages Ghana to consolidate the upgraded
system and to continue further improvements in the phytosanitary
certification system to obtain full compliance with the EU phytosanitary
requirements.”
As part of the efforts to ensure that Ghana did not face such setback
again, Dr Akoto stated that the ministry would enforce all export
procedures while initiating reforms to enhance exportation.
Some of the new reforms he mentioned included the commencement of an
automation process of traceability system, establishment of electronic
certification system and the restructuring of the Plant Protection and
Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD).
The ban
The EU, in October 2015, banned the export of those vegetables from
Ghana to its market because of suspicions that the farm produce were
infested with pests which were being introduced into the ecosystem of
the EU.
That came to light after an audit team from the Directorate General
for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission visited Ghana in
2012.
After evaluation of the system of official controls and the
certification of plants and plant products exported to the EU, the team
identified a number of harmful organisms and made some recommendations
to correct the situation.
As part of the recommendations, the team advised Ghana to provide
adequate inspection facilities at the Kotoka International Airport,
provide appropriate equipment for detection of pests and strengthen
issuance of documentation. Unfortunately, the harmful organisms from
Ghana’s vegetables into the EU increased after another assessment in
2015, an indication that the proposed actions for corrections were not fully
implemented, which eventually led to the emergency ban in October, 2015
of the vegetables which constituted a large proportion of vegetable
exports.
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