All Ghanaian commercial banks have been ordered by the central bank to suspend lending foreign currency for the importation of non-essential products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles, and others.
This directive, according to the Bank of Ghana, would go into effect on November 17, 2022, a Thursday. Since three weeks ago, according to Joy Business, the FX support for the importation of these non-essential commodities has been removed. In the President’s recent address to the nation on the state of the Ghanaian economy, it was stated that as of Sunday, October 30, 2022, “…the Bank of Ghana will stop provide FX support for imports of non-critical products like rice, chicken, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles, and others. The message to the banks said, “Please be informed and act properly.”
The government believes that this action will lessen the nation’s dependence on imports and, as a result, lessen the high demand for US dollars and other major foreign currencies, which will decrease the cedi’s rapid decline. In a similar event, Ghana’s Korea Importers Association members voiced their concern over the continuous depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi. They argue that the high import duties and the weakening cedi are causing their businesses to collapse and are calling for a rapid reduction in import duties.
Dumenu George, the general secretary, stated during a press conference that the delays in the clearing of products at the ports caused by duplication of duties and additional fees on top of duty harmed their business. He claims that clearing agents who are overburdened with work miss deadlines, resulting in demurrage. To facilitate the clearing of goods, he pointed out that importers prefer to make payments directly to banks using unique codes.
