The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has intensified its effort to ensure that Ghana remains the leading exporter of yam in the world.
Currently, Ghana is ranked 1st in terms of the value of yam exports (US$37.6m), followed by Jamaica (US$37.5m) and the USA (US$27.1m).
As part of efforts to maintain the leading status, the GSA is engaging some cargo airlines on the availability of space for exporters of perishables such as yam.
Also, there has been a multi-stakeholder committee formed to monitor and ensure improvements in Ghana’s Temperature Control Cargo Industry. The GSA is in talks with GIZ Ghana and the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) on measures to boost trade facilitation.
Participating in a forum for yam exporters organised by the Exim Bank on 26th July 2022, the GSA expressed confidence that these measures will help support the operations of yam exporters.
The forum, which was on the theme: ‘Facilitating International Trade: The role of Ghana Exim Bank in yam exports’, was organised on the back of the 2021 report on Non-Traditional Exports (NTEs) which Indicated that Ghana surpassed Jamaica as the largest exporter of yam in the year under review.
Members from the Ghana Root Crops and Tubers Exporters Union (GROTEU) and other yam exporter associations noted that challenges in securing financial assistance for yam export, as well as concerns with standards and specifications in the industry are issues which need urgent solution.
In a response, the CEO of the Ghana Exim Bank, Mr. Lawrence Agyinsam, announced a thirty-five-million dollar (US$35m) support package to assist in the production and export of yam. “The Ghana Exim Bank is ready to put in US$10million to improve the production and export of yam. USAID is also ready and prepared to invest US$25million for the same purpose,” he said.
A representative from the Shipper Services and Trade Facilitation Department of the GSA, Basil Sennor, commended the Ghana Exim Bank for the initiative to provide financial support to yam exporters.
Also present were sector stakeholders, including the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD), Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Ghana Standards Authority, Ghana Free Zones Authority, and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
