According to the sector minister, the country spends about $164 million just to import yemuadie into the country.
This comes after the government plans to lay before Parliament a Constitutional Instrument (C.I) seeking to restrict the importation of certain strategic products into the country.
The C.I, which is expected to be laid before Parliament on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, will include items such as rice, diapers, tripe [popularly known as ‘yemuadie’] among other imported products.
Explaining the purpose of the CI to the media, the sector minister noted that the importation of these items puts financial burden on the country, given the fact that many of these items could be produced here in the country.
“You will recall that during the time of my vetting, I did indicate that products like the intestines of animals such as cows, goats etc, the country had to put in an amount of about $164 million towards the importation of this item into the country. I found that rather revolting. I don't understand why items like these should be imported into the country,” he said.
The minister indicated that there is a broader scope of the proposed import restrictions, key among them is the importation of rice, which currently surpasses domestic production.
He, however, assured that measures would be taken to ensure an adequate supply of rice in the country.
“There is also the importation of rice into the country. Of course, we consume more than we produce in this country, so we import. Now, to sanitise what it is that we bring into the country, we are taking steps to ensure there is no poverty of rice in the country.
By this I mean that, we are not going to by this restriction ensure that there is no food in the country at all.
“This our 1D1F factories, and the other factories that are producing rice in the country are deliberate effort by the government to ensure that we are able to go back to Acheampong’s ‘Operation Feed Yourself’,” he added.
KT Hammond emphasised the government's commitment to fostering internal production capacity and reducing dependency on imports.
"We want to be able to ensure that the country is on the right foot and has the capacity to produce to meet its internal consumption. If there is the need to allow some products into the country, we would.
“I talked about just rice and the intestines of animals but there are about 22 items on the list, an example is the importation of diapers,” he added.
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Minister of Food and Agriculture, KT Hammond