Mr Alan Kyerematen, Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, said that the country spent GH6.874 billion on rice imports from 2017 to 2020.
He went on to say that over the same time period, the country imported the following foods:
The Minister made the revelation when he stood before Parliament to answer a question from Mr Murtala Muhammed Ibrahim, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, on how much the government spent on rice and other food imports in the last four years.
In response to a question on whether the government had eased a ban on small rice importers, Mr Kyeremanten said rice was a staple food in Ghana and that a careful balance had to be maintained between the quantity of rice produced locally and what was imported to avoid serious shortages.
Mr Kyeremanten stressed that the government has not lifted the ban imposed on the small rice importers but the Ministry has a management policy to ensure that there were no shortages in the system.
He explained that the Ministry would review its position on rice imports when there was significant local rice production in the country.