Ghana - Agricultural SectorsGhana - Agricultural Sectors
Overview
The Ghanaian market continues to offer many opportunities for U.S. exporters of consumer-ready food products and remains a key access point for entry into the West Africa regional market. The domestic agricultural sector is largely subsistence based, composed of 80 percent crop production, 10 percent livestock, poultry and fishery production, and 10 percent forestry. The sector employs about approximately 45 percent of the population and contributes approximately 20 percent of GDP.
Ghana operates a relatively free market, having comparatively low tariffs on imported products. Major agricultural food products imported into the country include bulk commodities (rice and wheat) and consumer ready food products such as poultry. There is a high demand for imported food products, especially consumer ready products, due to limited selection of products provided by the underdeveloped domestic agricultural and food processing sector in Ghana. U.S. firms can take advantage of this sector.
Sub-Sector Best Prospects
Bulk goods: wheat, coarse grains, rice, soybeans, pulses, peanuts;
Intermediate: wheat flour, soybean meal, soybean oil, vegetable oils, feeds & fodders;
Consumer oriented: snack foods, breakfast cereals, red meats, poultry meat, dairy products, eggs and egg products, wine/beer, fruit and vegetable juices, tree nuts, nursery products.
Ghanaian importers prefer consumer-ready products with the following characteristics:
Relatively small-sized products prepared and packaged for one-time use;
Bulk, intermediate products and ingredients that can easily be re-packaged in Ghana without large additional production costs;
Perishable food products processed and packaged for long shelf-life, and not requiring much refrigeration (such as milk powder, instant beverage drinks etc.);
Mixed containers of high-value products and brands; and
Food products packaged with long “Best Before” date.
Opportunities
Rice
Rice is cultivated in all the agricultural regions of Ghana. It is grown mainly in the valley bottoms, employing traditional farming practices. Modern scientific methods of rice cultivation through mechanization and irrigation are gradually increasing, particularly in the northern savannah zone and the Accra Plains of the Greater Accra region. Nevertheless, local rice cultivation does not meet local demand. Ghana has a total of 125,000 hectares of land under rice cultivation. Rice is imported to augment local production (of milled rice) from Pakistan, Korea, India, Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam and the United States.
Wheat
Wheat consumption has been stable for several years due to the high cost of hard wheat, which is the preference of the Ghanaian consumer. There is no cultivation of wheat in Ghana. All the wheat consumed in Ghana is imported, with about 40 percent of the imports coming from the United States and the rest from Canada and the European Union. Bread has become one of Ghana’s staple foods, with most Ghanaians having some form of wheat in their daily diet. There is an increasing demand for wheat bran for livestock and poultry, and it is expected that the demand for the importation of wheat will be sustained. Total wheat milling capacity in Ghana is about 400,000 metric tons.
Poultry
Poultry production in about 65 percent of the market is mainly ‘free range’ or ‘backyard’ – with a high chick mortality rate. Large quantities of poultry parts are imported into Ghana to satisfy local consumption.
The Ghanaian market continues to offer many opportunities for U.S. exporters of consumer-ready food products and remains a key access point for entry into the West Africa regional market. The domestic agricultural sector is largely subsistence based, composed of 80 percent crop production, 10 percent livestock, poultry and fishery production, and 10 percent forestry. The sector employs about approximately 45 percent of the population and contributes approximately 20 percent of GDP.
Ghana operates a relatively free market, having comparatively low tariffs on imported products. Major agricultural food products imported into the country include bulk commodities (rice and wheat) and consumer ready food products such as poultry. There is a high demand for imported food products, especially consumer ready products, due to limited selection of products provided by the underdeveloped domestic agricultural and food processing sector in Ghana. U.S. firms can take advantage of this sector.
Sub-Sector Best Prospects
Bulk goods: wheat, coarse grains, rice, soybeans, pulses, peanuts;
Intermediate: wheat flour, soybean meal, soybean oil, vegetable oils, feeds & fodders;
Consumer oriented: snack foods, breakfast cereals, red meats, poultry meat, dairy products, eggs and egg products, wine/beer, fruit and vegetable juices, tree nuts, nursery products.
Ghanaian importers prefer consumer-ready products with the following characteristics:
Relatively small-sized products prepared and packaged for one-time use;
Bulk, intermediate products and ingredients that can easily be re-packaged in Ghana without large additional production costs;
Perishable food products processed and packaged for long shelf-life, and not requiring much refrigeration (such as milk powder, instant beverage drinks etc.);
Mixed containers of high-value products and brands; and
Food products packaged with long “Best Before” date.
Opportunities
Rice
Rice is cultivated in all the agricultural regions of Ghana. It is grown mainly in the valley bottoms, employing traditional farming practices. Modern scientific methods of rice cultivation through mechanization and irrigation are gradually increasing, particularly in the northern savannah zone and the Accra Plains of the Greater Accra region. Nevertheless, local rice cultivation does not meet local demand. Ghana has a total of 125,000 hectares of land under rice cultivation. Rice is imported to augment local production (of milled rice) from Pakistan, Korea, India, Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam and the United States.
Wheat
Wheat consumption has been stable for several years due to the high cost of hard wheat, which is the preference of the Ghanaian consumer. There is no cultivation of wheat in Ghana. All the wheat consumed in Ghana is imported, with about 40 percent of the imports coming from the United States and the rest from Canada and the European Union. Bread has become one of Ghana’s staple foods, with most Ghanaians having some form of wheat in their daily diet. There is an increasing demand for wheat bran for livestock and poultry, and it is expected that the demand for the importation of wheat will be sustained. Total wheat milling capacity in Ghana is about 400,000 metric tons.
Poultry
Poultry production in about 65 percent of the market is mainly ‘free range’ or ‘backyard’ – with a high chick mortality rate. Large quantities of poultry parts are imported into Ghana to satisfy local consumption.