Different governments over the years have struggled to make the Cedi stable against major trading currencies, particularly the dollar, due to what experts describe as over-dependence on the import market for the country’s consumption needs.
As the new government has promised to reverse the trend during the vetting of Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, agribusiness has strongly emerged as one of the major sectors that can help achieve the Cedi stabilisation agenda.
Minister-Designate for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare has reiterated production and value addition as some measures Ghana can take in the agribusiness industry to ensure the stabilisation of the cedi.
Speaking during her vetting by Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, the nominee underscored the importance of agribusiness and its role in curbing high importation of food into the country.
“Under agribusiness, we’re going to do what we term the contract commercial farming, and it is going to make available raw materials in Ghana. And if we get raw materials in Ghana, two things will happen: our importation of raw materials will reduce, and we will know what our trade balance will be when we’re importing less. And also, when we import less raw materials, it will limit the stress on our foreign exchange. Once we have raw materials in the country, the essence is value addition,” she said.
She also intimated that “with the 24-hour economy in place, there’ll be more production and our exports will improve.”
Madam Ofosu-Agyare also stressed that creating a transparent and conducive environment for investment while ensuring compliance with international practices and standards will undoubtedly, attract international investors to boost the country’s economy.
Reporting by Stephen Freeman, Accra
