GHANA – The Acting Chief Veterinary Officer of the Ghanaian Veterinary Services Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture recently acknowledged the receipt of the FSIS’ proposed certificate of export for pork and pork products confirming its acceptance.
The letter was signed to the Veterinary Medical Officer of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and confirming its acceptance indicates that the Ghanaian market is now officially open to US exports of pork and pork products.
The proposed export certificate covers all US meat products including beef, poultry, goat and lamb.
Ghana’s market of imported pork and pork products was valued at US$16 million in 2021 having steadily increased from 2017. The country imported a total of 15,000 metric tonnes in 2021.
The market is currently dominated by the European Union and the recent opening of the market to the U.S meat and meat products, creates an opportunity for the US to grow as a significant player in Ghana’s imports.
As per the domestic production of pig meat in Ghana, the production has gradually increased at a rate of 10.5% over the last 15 years in terms of both intensive or commercial production, and extensive or free-ranging animal production.
The demand however still exceeds the domestic supply by 20% hence the need to import from other countries.
The dominant challenges faced by domestic Ghanaian pork production include the swine flu outbreak that caused the price of pork and pork products to shoot up.
Businesses in the sector found it difficult to bounce back after having to cull their infected animals as hundreds were affected.
This was a major setback for the industry.
Other challenges in the local pork sector include limited pork and pork products markets, high taxation, limited extension services and high price of feed.
The market is however growing with the recent growth in demand for pork. Many farmers and traders who previously dealt with smaller livestock have switched to pigs in recent years reporting that the profit margins are growing and that incidents of theft are relatively lower.
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