Chairman of the Food and Beverages Association, John Awuni, has criticized the government’s decision to ban the importation of certain staple foods, labeling it as insensitive.
Mr Awuni contends that the government should have conducted thorough due diligence to ensure the country can adequately produce the targeted food items before implementing such policies.
In an interview with JoyNews, he expressed his dissatisfaction, stating, “If the country is ready for this, we all will clap hands and be happy about that. As a technical person, I want to see that this country has built blocks towards this, but you don’t wake up one early morning and exercise this level of insensitivity on the people.”
Mr Awuni’s remarks follow the government’s initiative to restrict the importation of strategic products, including rice, fruit juices, tripe, fish, cement, and 17 other items.
He emphasized the importance of having local products stocked for a minimum of three years before enforcing such policies to prevent potential food shortages.
“Before any government can come up with a policy to implement, the government should have had its local stock in a buffer in their warehouses which can cover about three years,” he emphasized.
“If I take rice for instance, before any government can come up with a policy to implement, government should have had its local stock in a buffer in their warehouses which can cover about three years. That is, we have produced rice locally and are in stock which can cover a minimum of three years,” he stressed.
In response to the proposed import restrictions, Associate Professor Lord Mensah from the University of Ghana Business School expressed skepticism about the plan’s successful implementation.
Mr Mensah questioned the timing and prioritization of the proposed restrictions, citing concerns about the country’s ability to meet the demand for items like fruit juice, animal, and vegetable oil.
He emphasized that it might be premature to implement such restrictions without adequate measures in place to ensure self-sufficiency.