Gov’t to Restrict Scrap Metal and Raw Rubber Exports to Boost Local Industries
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
The government has announced decisive measures to restrict the export of non-ferrous scrap metals and raw rubber, in a bid to stimulate domestic manufacturing, strengthen value-addition, and create long-term employment opportunities. The policy, outlined in the 2026 Budget presentation, forms part of a broader industrialisation strategy designed to ensure that Ghana’s raw materials are retained for local processing rather than shipped abroad in their primary form.
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, presenting the policy shift to Parliament, explained that the move aligns with the government’s Feed the Industry Program, which seeks to guarantee sustainable access to industrial inputs for local manufacturers. “As part of the Feed the Industry Programme and to support the local metals industry, government will be restricting the exportation of non-ferrous scrap metals,” he announced.
Ghana produces an estimated 91,000 metric tonnes of scrap metals annually, yet current domestic usage captures only a fraction of total output. Officials say that local industries already possess significantly higher processing capacity, meaning a large percentage of scrap that could support domestic production is instead exported for smelting abroad. The restriction aims to increase supply for domestic steel, aluminium, automotive parts, and machinery fabrication firms, industries expected to play a more prominent role in Ghana’s industrialisation agenda.
Similarly, the export of raw rubber will be controlled to ensure that the material feeds domestic tyre, rubber goods, footwear, and automotive manufacturing plants. The national processing capacity for raw rubber currently stands at about 178,000 tonnes per year, far higher than present throughput due to export leakages. “As part of efforts to secure sustainable supply of raw materials for domestic processing and the development of the local value chains, government will be restricting the export of raw rubber,” Dr. Forson emphasised.
Beyond resource retention, the budget outlines parallel industrial projects aimed at accelerating manufacturing-led development. Three modern garment factories are scheduled to be constructed in the Bono East, Central, and Eastern Regions, operating on a three-shift system and together projected to create approximately 27,000 direct jobs. These factories are expected to support export-ready clothing production and link thousands of small-scale seamstresses and textile suppliers to structured supply chains.
The government is also advancing agro-industrialisation. Under the industrial transformation plan, seven agro-processing plants will be established nationwide to process key commodities including yam, fish, poultry, cashew, rice, shea butter, and palm kernel oil. The plants are expected to reduce post-harvest losses, stabilise farm incomes, and drive rural employment while strengthening food supply chains.
To reinforce export-oriented industrial diversification, the Finance Minister highlighted renewed efforts under the President’s Accelerated Export Development Program. Two new cashew processing plants financed by the Ghana Exim Bank, will soon be built at Sampa in the Jaman North Municipality of the Bono Region and Aboabo in Techiman in the Bono East Region. These facilities are expected to deepen value-addition, enhance Ghana’s competitive advantage in global cashew markets, and open new revenue streams for farmers and processors.
Collectively, the industry-focused measures reflect government’s transition toward a production-led economic model where raw materials remain in Ghana for processing, factories operate at higher capacity, and manufacturing assumes a greater share of national output. The policy shift signals a strategic departure from export dependence and underscores an industrialisation agenda anchored in value retention, job creation, and regional development.
