Agribusiness Chamber Calls for Audit of Rice Brands to Tackle Smuggling
The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Agribusiness, Mr Anthony Morrison, has called on the government to initiate an immediate and comprehensive audit of all rice brands on the Ghanaian market. The move, he said, is necessary to curb the smuggling of substandard rice, protect local farmers, recover lost tax revenues, and safeguard national food security.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Morrison expressed concern over what he described as the “seemingly illegal smuggling” of rice into Ghana, particularly through the northern borders. He warned that the influx of such unapproved imports was undermining the efforts of local rice producers and exposing consumers to unsafe food products.
“There is a seemingly illegal smuggling into the country, mainly coming from the northern borders,” he noted.
Smuggling and Substandard Rice Flooding the Market
Mr Morrison alleged that a significant number of rice brands currently being sold in Ghana might not have passed through the appropriate regulatory checks. He, therefore, urged the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to jointly verify and authenticate all brands on the market.
According to him, the growing presence of unverified and poor-quality rice erodes consumer confidence, disadvantages local processors, and aggravates the ongoing grain glut, where large quantities of locally produced rice remain unsold due to cheaper, low-grade imports.
Call for a Multi-Agency Audit
The Agribusiness Chamber boss further called for a coordinated national exercise involving agencies such as the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), National Security, FDA, and the GSA to conduct a full audit of rice brands.
“We are calling for a very comprehensive audit of all rice brands on the market. We want the National Security, the Ghana Revenue Authority, and we want all the agencies that should go out there, validate all the brands of rice we have on our market today. Go out there. What you do is that you pick all the brands, then find out who the importers are, who are the processors, and who are branding this,” he insisted.
He explained that comparing declared warehouse stocks with actual market volumes would help identify tax evaders and smugglers. Brands found to have entered the market through unapproved routes, he suggested, should be confiscated to serve as a deterrent.
Protecting Farmers and Securing the Nation’s Food Supply
Mr Morrison emphasised that protecting local farmers was not only an economic issue but also one of national importance. He maintained that every country that values its future invests in safeguarding the interests of its farmers.
“Everywhere in the world, governments and citizens protect farmers. Because that is the survival of every nation. We can’t import ourselves out of food security. We have to produce. And when we produce as Ghanaians, we have to patronise what our poor farmers struggle and toil to produce for us,” he maintained.
A Timely Call Amid Grain Glut
The Chamber’s appeal comes at a time when Ghanaian rice farmers are struggling with a grain glut, leaving huge quantities of rice unsold. The local industry continues to face stiff competition from cheaper foreign imports, which many stakeholders believe are undermining domestic production.
Mr Morrison stressed that beyond market regulation, the issue at hand speaks to fairness, food safety, and national pride. He believes that a comprehensive audit and stronger enforcement by regulatory bodies could restore order to the rice market, protect farmers, and stabilise prices in the long term.
