The Association of Alcohol Manufacturers and Importers(AAMI) encourages all non-member alcohol companies to join the association to create a united force at all levels so as to enhance engagement with stakeholders.
The AAMI has been established by major producers and importers of alcoholic beverages in Ghana to coordinate and direct activities toward the responsible production and use of alcoholic products in Ghana, and is currently made up of 25 member-companies.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the FDA, Hudu Mogtari, had expressed concern about the unregulated advertisement of alcohol and its deleterious effects on children and the youth in Ghana in 2016 – after which a regulation was enforced to regulate those activities in December 2017.
Following this recent enforcement of an advertising regulation by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) – which prevents manufacturers of alcoholic products from advertising their products on radio and television between the hours of 6am and 8pm, per the FDA’s guidelines for the advertisement (section 3.2.6) – the association needs to ensure and project responsibility and a strong standing to bargain on behalf of its members.
With this backdrop, the AAMI is engaging the FDA and other stakeholders to find an amicable solution that will promote responsible attitudes and behaviour in the marketing and consumption of alcoholic beverages – as well as protect the marketing freedoms of alcohol manufacturers and importers, guaranteeing their sustainability and growth as key contributors to the development of Ghana.
However, according to Gabriel Opoku-Asare-vice chairman of AAMI, whereas most members comply with the association’s code and the FDA’s regulation, it is also regrettable that some manufacturers and importers who are not members of the association continue to flout these regulations – which might bring the entire alcohol industry’s reputation into disrepute.
The association, in 2016, adopted a code of commercial communication to regulate the conduct of their business in the advertisement of members’ brands as an essential measure in the association’s partnership with government and maintaining public trust. The code ensures that members maintain the highest standards in all their commercial communications: including advertising in print and electronic media; packing, merchandising; consumer promotions, product placement; point of sale information and sponsorships – but non-members are not adhering to the codes of conduct.
Some of the association’s registered members are: Guinness Ghana Ltd.; Kasapreko Co. Ltd; Accra Brewery Limited; GIHOC Distilleries Company Ltd.; Agya Appiah Bitters Ltd.; GBL Brewery Ltd.; Don Emilio Limited; and ATLANTIC Beverages among others.
