There is growing pressure on President John Dramani Mahama to review and reduce port charges, following his 2024 campaign pledge to rationalize fees to ease the burden on importers and improve trade efficiency.
The call was made by the President of the Ghana Council in Belgium, Kwaku Boamah Acheampong, who said the issue has been a long-standing concern for Ghanaians living abroad. "The major concern for Ghanaians in the diaspora is the excessive duties. The President promised during the campaign tour that the new NDC government would work on it, so please take this issue to the Cabinet for us," he said.
Boamah made the remarks during a meeting between the Ghanaian community in Belgium and Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang. The gathering also discussed challenges affecting trade between Ghana and Europe, particularly agricultural exports.
Boamah highlighted that certain Ghanaian vegetables and food products have been banned from the European market due to high pesticide residues. "These vegetables and other foodstuffs are not allowed in the European market. They are banned because they contain too many pesticides. And this is blocking a big market for our agricultural development," he said.
He urged the government to introduce stronger monitoring and compliance mechanisms to ensure that Ghanaian produce meets international food safety standards. Strengthening adherence to export regulations, he said, would help restore market access for Ghanaian products in the European Union and improve the country's agricultural export competitiveness.
Source: GhanaWeb
