The recent establishment of a new bread factory along the Tema motorway has stirred significant apprehension within Ghana’s local baking sector.
Local industry participants have voiced concerns over potential unwarranted competition this development might pose to the pre-existing bread brands within the nation.
Reportedly under the ownership of Chinese investors, the factory named “Amigo Bread” is visibly designed for large-scale bread production.
A significant aspect of the concerns raised revolves around the potential impact on small-scale bakers who currently serve their local communities while sustaining their livelihoods through this occupation.
GhanaWeb Business investigations have also revealed that the new bread product is comparatively more cost-effective than established local brands. Amigo Bread is priced at 10 cedis per loaf, whereas other known local brands are marketed at 13 cedis and 15 cedis respectively.
Offering his perspective on the matter via Twitter, Economist Theophilus Acheampong highlighted that a nation’s focus should not solely revolve around foreign direct investments, drawing attention to the broader considerations at hand.
He stated that as a country, “We must be DELIBERATE about protecting certain industries. Even America, China, the EU, and others do the same!!!! We’ve over liberalised the Ghanaian economy. Too much neoliberalism! FDI is not everything!”
Other Twitter users also shared varied opinions on the subject.
Mista Darko said: “I think govt needs to consider taking steps to build the capacity of local entrepreneurs to scale their business so there will be no need for some of these FDIs.”
Nick wrote “Spot on bro! You can’t enter China today and start a bakery.”
Thinker said: “The govt should protect local industries for once. We can’t open our economy to everybody just like that.”
Kiko also said: “The impact of these kinda of investments are grossly overstated. The amount of jobs it creates vs the mom&pop outfits that are going to go out of business, doesn’t offset. That being said, will connoisseurs of real Ghana made bread patronize a commercially made bread? I won’t!”