The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, has said that the government intends to lift the recently enforced ban on grain exports by November.
This statement comes as a relief to agricultural and trade stakeholders who have been closely monitoring the situation since the abrupt enforcement of the export embargo in response to unforeseen grain production deficits in northern Ghana caused by a dry spell.
The export ban, which was put into effect just last week, was a direct response to alarming reports of decreased grain yields in the northern regions of the country.
These deficiencies are mostly due to an exceptional dry period that is reducing crop production, prompting concerns about food security and the possibility of inflationary pressures on grain prices.
The government’s decision to impose the ban was aimed at safeguarding the nation’s food supply, ensuring that domestic needs were met before allowing any grain to be exported.
In an interaction with journalists, Dr Bryan Acheampong expressed confidence that the current challenges would be mitigated by November, allowing the government to lift the restrictions on grain exports.
Dr Bryan Acheampong reiterated that the government is closely monitoring the weather patterns and agricultural outputs in the affected regions.
“We will monitor the situation, but we believe that we will come out of this situation by November. We should be very clear when the northern harvest comes in and the southern sector comes in, and then the imports come in. By November we should be very clear and so we will monitor and we will apprise the nation.”
