Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development, Ghana (VAST Ghana) has urged the Ministry of Finance to reconsider the removal of the 20% excise tax on locally produced fruit juices, warning that the exemption could undermine public health objectives and reduce the effectiveness of taxation as a tool for preventing non-communicable diseases.
The organisation said the policy could create inconsistencies in Ghana’s public health tax framework if beverages with high sugar content were exempted based solely on their local production status.
In a statement signed by Ms Jennifer Maame Ama Owusu, Communications Manager of VAST Ghana, the organisation also called on the Ministry of Health to urgently engage the issue, citing potential implications for disease prevention and healthcare financing.
It said the exemption warranted reconsideration alongside government interventions such as the Ghana Medical Trust Fund and the Free Primary Health Care Policy, which seek to improve access to healthcare and strengthen preventive services.
“Supporting local businesses is a legitimate economic objective, but such support should not inadvertently encourage the consumption of products that contribute to excessive sugar intake and increase the risk of diet-related diseases,” the statement said.
VAST Ghana said the definition of fruit juice to be used in implementing the exemption also required greater clarity, arguing that the criteria for qualifying products could affect public health outcomes, industry competition and domestic revenue mobilisation.
The organisation noted that fruit juices were not automatically healthier alternatives to other sugar-sweetened beverages, as their sugar content could vary depending on their composition and processing methods.
It said some products contained substantial amounts of free sugars, including sugars concentrated during production, and that excessive consumption could contribute to weight gain, overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes and other diet-related non-communicable diseases.
Exempting locally produced fruit juices without considering their sugar content, it argued, could weaken the consistency of policies designed to discourage the consumption of products associated with such health risks.
VAST Ghana said Ghana’s efforts to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases required sustained investment in preventive policies that delivered health, social and economic benefits.
It maintained that fiscal measures intended to support domestic production should complement, rather than conflict with, national nutrition and disease-prevention objectives.
“Excise taxation is an important public health instrument that can reduce the consumption of harmful products while generating domestic revenue to support national development priorities,” the statement said.
It added that the approach aligned with the World Health Organization’s “3 by 35” initiative, which calls on countries to increase the real prices of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks through effective tax measures by 2035.
The organisation therefore urged the Ministry of Finance to consider an evidence-based system that taxes beverages according to their free sugar content, regardless of whether they are manufactured locally or imported.
Such a system, it said, would align taxation more closely with the health risks associated with excessive sugar consumption, promote fair competition among manufacturers and encourage the production of healthier beverages.
VAST Ghana added that a carefully designed sugar-content-based tax could also incentivise manufacturers to reformulate their products by reducing sugar levels while supporting government revenue mobilisation efforts.
It called on the Ministry of Finance to work with the Ministry of Health, the Food and Drugs Authority and other relevant stakeholders to develop a beverage taxation framework that balances industrial development with public health protection.
“Ghana must not allow an industrial incentive to weaken the effectiveness of its public health protections,” the organisation said.
