The Minister-designate for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare has revealed a bold strategy to further improve Ghana’s trade balance.
The minister-designate is convinced that by focusing on the local production of raw materials, the country can drastically reduce its dependency on importation.
Although Ghana’s trade balance – the difference between its exports and imports – has been improving for some months now, the minister-designate says it could further be enhanced with a strategy of producing our raw materials locally.
Checks by The High Street Journal reveal that the economy has been recording a positive trade balance, widely known as a trade surplus since the beginning of January 2024.
Latest Summary of Economic and Financial Data published by the Bank of Ghana reveals that from a surplus of GHC 58 million in January 2024, the surplus consistently improved to hit GHC 3.85 billion as of October 2024.
To build on this progress, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare says if she’s approved, her ministry will leverage agribusiness through contract commercial farming to produce the raw materials Ghana needs.
She believes the over-reliance on imported raw materials has consistently strained the country’s trade balance and foreign exchange reserves. Her approach seeks to reverse this trend by boosting local production.
“We have to work on the production of raw materials in this country. I have indicated that under the agri-business, we are going to do contract commercial farming and it’s going to make available raw materials in Ghana,” she narrated at the Appointments Committee of Parliament during her vetting on Wednesday.
She explained that reducing imports of raw materials would further improve Ghana’s trade balance by minimizing the outflow of foreign exchange for imports. The initiative would also address fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, which have been exacerbated by high demand for imported raw materials.
“Our importation of the raw materials will reduce and we know what happens to our trade balance when we are importing less.”
Beyond reducing raw material imports, the minister-designate stressed the importance of adding value to locally produced raw materials. This, she noted, would significantly decrease the importation of finished goods, further reducing Ghana’s trade deficit.
“So when we add value to our raw materials, it will also decrease the number of the finished products that we import”
The minister-designate’s plan aligns with Ghana’s broader industrialization agenda, as it is expected to boost local manufacturing, create jobs, and foster sustainable economic growth.
By ensuring the availability of local raw materials and promoting value addition, the initiative promises to position Ghana as a competitive player in global trade while reducing its vulnerability to external economic shocks.
