GHANA – Kasapreko Company Limited (KCL), a Ghanaian indigenous manufacturer and producer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks has lost US$2m in sales following the closure of the Seme border by the Nigerian government.
KCL are the manufacturers of Alomo Bitters, a herbal based alcoholic drink popular in not only Ghana but also Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
Francis Holly Adzah, Kasapreko’s Head of International Business Development, said that the company has lost US$2m in revenue following the border closure with neighbouring West African countries.
She said that the beverage company was able to transport three trucks before the border closure, but now, the company has exhausted its products in the Nigerian market.
“[We] managed to send in three trucks of products to the Nigerian market moments before the border was closed,” Adzah said.
According to the report by the brewer, four other trucks with products destined for Nigeria, one at the border and the others at the company’s facilities in Ghana, have been left grounded due to the border closure by Nigeria.
“In September, we lost US$1 million to the closure. October is almost ended and our checks show a loss of another million dollars. The situation is getting out of hand and very serious,” said Adzah.
Kasapreko said it has been forced to look for business in other African markets like Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, Benin as well as European markets as sales to Nigeria dry up.
President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari in August, ordered the closure of the land border with Benin Republic and other neighbouring countries due to massive smuggling activities especially of rice that threatened the attainment of self-sufficiency in production of agricultural commodities.
The closure has also taken a toll on rice-exporting countries as the price of the commodity dipped by a joint 46 percent in one month in countries like Thailand and India.