An Executive Member of the Food and Beverage Importers Association has commended the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for the withdrawal of foreign exchange support for the importation of non-essential goods.
Mr John Awuni said the withdrawal of FX support for the importation of these items will help the country to focus on consumption of locally produced goods, thus order is in the right direction.
“On the face value, it is a very good policy. In the sense that we are in very difficult and critical times … For me in terms of economics, that is right,” he said.
He, however noted that “the decision has not been formulated based on any information.”
Efforts to curb importation of foreign products and promote the consumption of locally produced commodities are underway as the Bank of Ghana has withdrawn foreign exchange support for importation of what it describes as “non-essential” goods.
These goods include rice, vegetable oils, poultry, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, etc.
The measure is in line with a directive issued by the President at his recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy, on Sunday 30th October, 2022, an electronic message from the Bank of Ghana to the banks said.
During the address 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 this was recently announced by the Bank of Ghana, reports indicate that the withdrawal took effect about three weeks ago.
“Please be advised and act accordingly”, the message added.
Source: MyJoyOnline