Over $600 million worth of chicken is dumped onto the Ghanaian market annually.
This has compounded the woes of Ghana’s poultry industry which is on the verge of collapse due to the lack of regulation to check the dumping of chicken onto the market.
Speaking at a hearing over allegations of dumping of chicken into the country by the Ghana International Trade Commission, National Chairman of the Poultry Farmers Association, Victor Oppong, expressed worry that local players may be forced out of business.
“On annual basis, we receive 600,000 metric tons of frozen chicken which is made up of 569 million birds valued at $600 million. We are saying that the import is collapsing the poultry industry as well as putting more pressure on the local currency”.
“It means, we have to look for more than $600 million to buy poultry products, while we can make arrangements to get them locally”, he added.
The Ghana International Trade Commission seeks to find an amicable solution to unfair trade practices that has been a hindrance to many Ghanaian businesses including the poultry industry.
The investigation of dumping of poultry products is influenced by widespread agitations from local players regarding loss of jobs and quality of products onto the market.
Executive Secretary of the Commission, Frank Agyekum believes, the hearing will help in curbing all forms of unfair trade practices in the poultry value chain and promote healthy competition among the players.
Source: Myjoyonline