The National Youth Authority (NYA) has also thrown its weight behind the Bank of Ghana in its decision to withdraw its foreign exchange support for the importation of what it describes as “non-essential” goods.
On Thursday, the BoG via electronic message to all local banks revealed that goods include rice, vegetable oils, poultry, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, etc, that are imported would no receive its support.
In response to the Central Bank’s directive, the NYA in a statement signed by Chief Executive Officer, Pius Enam Hadzide, noted that this is “a critical step in the right direction, intended to revamp the entrepreneurial capacity of the nation and aligns with the industrialisation drive of the government of Ghana.”
The Authority believes the import-substitution will yield a considerable number of employment opportunities for youth who are focused on the production of several of these commodities.
The Authority in its release dated November 18, noted that it “is therefore pleased to throw support behind a move that complements government’s YouStart initiative in this regard.”
2022-11-18 13-15 by The Independent Ghana on Scribd
The BoG’s measure forms part of efforts to curb the importation of foreign products and promote the consumption of locally produced commodities. In the long run, the demand of the United States Dollar will decline, and in turn, help with the appreciation of the Ghana cedi.
This recent directive is in line with a directive issued by the president while delivering an address on the Ghanaian economy, on October 30, 2022.
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 it was recently announced by the Bank of Ghana, reports indicate that the withdrawal took effect about three weeks ago.
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 the 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.
Source: Theindependentghana.com
