The Executives of the Oil Palm Improvement Association of Ghana (OPDAG) collectively with the hundreds of thousands of their members and the overall worth chain actors of the oil palm sector are thrilled about the government’s selection to exempt the sector’s commodities from the 50% reduction in the benchmark value of imports as introduced on Monday May perhaps 11, 2020.
According to the Executive Secretary of the Association Selorm Quarme, the shift will assure the constant employment and sustained livelihoods of a large number of Ghanaian farmers and price chain actors, most of whom are smallholders.
It will also present a degree playing industry to assure that local producers stay aggressive in the in the in close proximity to term although encouraging and attracting the needed investment for the enhancement of the oil palm sector which is waiting to be exploited for the advancement of the tree crop sector.
“The benchmark value launched in 2019, gave importers of palm oil in the kind of vegetable cooking oils an unfair pricing gain around local producers” Mr. Quarme claimed.
“The selling price benefit to importers pushed a large amount of farmers, processors and refiners and other firms in the oil palm value chain out of small business.
We are even so energized that a selection has been taken to exempt palm oil and the associated cooking oils from this coverage, which to us will not only inure to the profit of all stakeholders particularly all these in the worth chain but will also make the sector beautiful for expense, and for the improvement of the tree crops sector as envisaged in the Tree Crops Advancement Authority Act, 2019 Act 1010”
Mr. Quarme observed that prior to the introduction of the benchmark value, a 25liter (Yellow Gallon) of oil generated domestically was offering at GH¢145 against GH¢150 for the imported solution.
Having said that, when the plan kicked in, whereas the locally developed vegetable oil was however selling at GH¢145, the imported solutions commenced providing at between GH¢110 and GH¢120.
“This condition adversely afflicted the nearby marketplace as regional producers ended up confronted with the concomitant effects of an unfair levels of competition – a condition that threatened work opportunities and decline of livelihoods of countless numbers of smallholder farmers in the price chain, not to mention the effect on investment decision and growth of the sector.
The Affiliation since the introduction of the plan, has been advocating for an exemption for the oil palm market and it is heartwarming to take note that the government has listened to this plea and taken the move in the correct way to rescue the field.
It is as a result a welcoming and a beneficial advancement for the neighborhood oil palm business and we urge all customers to carry on to undertake finest tactics to be certain the sustainability of the industry.
We thank the president and the govt as we search ahead to the following big issue – the operationalization of the Tree Crops Development Authority, they indicated.
