Ghana, US record US$300m in agriculture trade in 2019

With barely two months to end the year, bilateral agricultural trade between Ghana and the United States of America for 2019 is currently valued at US$300 million, U.S Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Stephen Censky has confirmed to the Goldstreet Business.

But the U.S says its share of the amount only stands at US$101 million of exports into the country, with Ghana raking in almost US$200 million.

Addressing the media to close a three-day agricultural trade mission to West Africa in Accra, Mr Censky noted that both countries still have a lot more to do to further deepen the existing trade flows and to continually discover opportunities to utilize.

The US has also, in the last four years, through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has invested more than US$50 million in support of Ghana’s poultry industry and that, the Deputy Secretary noted has shown that his country is not only interested in exports into Ghana but the gesture confirms the United States’ interest in boosting the agriculture sector here.

“That goes a long way to show that the US is not only interested in exports to this country but it also has the interest of the Ghanaian agriculture sector at heart” he said.

Annual food and agriculture imports into West Africa are estimated at US$10 billion and the US’s share of that is around US$500 million.

“We are more interested in getting a larger share of the US$10 billion food and agriculture imports into West Africa and particularly Ghana, through a mutually beneficial relationship” Mr. Censky said.

The delegation also met with the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Trade Minister Mr. Alan Kyeremateng and held discussions on the way forward in improving the already existing trade between the two countries.

In 487 different meetings involving 42 agricultural related companies from the USA, the trade mission also met buyer delegations and companies who came to Ghana from Ivory Coast, Senegal, Gambia, and Nigeria.

The mission was to support the ‘Prosper Africa Initiative’ by the US government.