Ghanaians to consume more ready-made, fast foods as disposable income, population increase – US study reveals

A new report released by the United States of Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revealed that Ghanaians’ demand for readymade and fast foods will significantly rise in the next few years, ABC News can report.

The report explains that in the next few years, already prepared foodstuffs, canned foods, sauces, bottled drinks among others will be on very high demand relative to their current demand.

USDA revealed that an increase in population and a rise in disposable income of Ghanaians are the main drivers of this imminent shift in consumption in the very near future. In general, the demand for Western goods, especially protein-rich products will rise.

“Similarly, global snack food imports by Ghana are expected to increase as Ghanaian households desire more readily-accessible food products,” a portion of the report indicated.

According to the report, this shift in consumption is also partly attributable to the inability of Ghana’s agricultural production to meet the growing demand hence the resolve to patronise foreign-made foods.

“A young labour force, annual increases in labour productivity, high rates of urbanization, and recent increases in employment are driving demand for modern products and new foods”, the report further explained.

This will require Ghana to import more meat products annually, the report predicted.

Also, the report showed that Ghana imported nearly $2 billion of agricultural and related products in the past three years. The imports were primarily from the EU, China, Brazil, and Southeast Asia. The US holds a 4.9 percent market share of Ghanaian agricultural imports, the report said.

According to the report, Ghana maintains an open trade environment towards U.S. agricultural imports and market preferences appear favourable for increasing trade volume.

This report comes at a time Ghana’s government is considering implementing policies such as the “See, Eat, Wear, Feel Ghana” campaign to reduce Ghana’s food importation bill.