Invest imports bill in local companies – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has said the huge chunk of the national budget that is used to cover the country’s import costs should be channeled into procuring locally-produced products as this will help to fast-track economic growth and strengthen the cedi against its major trading currencies.

Speaking at the inauguration of an ultra-modern factory for Blue Skies Ghana Limited at Doboro in the Eastern Region, he said this will also create the much-needed jobs and help to boost production capacity of the country’s prime exports for more foreign earnings.

President Mahama, in a speech that sought to promote the call for increased public consumption of locally-produced products and the significance of public-private partnerships -- especially in the agri-business sector -- said implementing the directive will drastically reduce the country’s imports bills.

“A good chunk of the national budget is spent on imports, which when used in procuring locally made goods will help to help to fast-track economic growth and also strengthen the cedi against its major trading currencies.

“There are equally good products in the country and the successes of such local manufacturers and producers should encourage us, as a country, to increase consumption of made-in-Ghana goods and buy Ghanaians out of the ‘foreign superiority’ mindset.

“We currently import US$300million worth of sugar each year, but we can limit the amount of foreign exchange we spend on such imports. For instance, there was an about-41 percent reduction in the rice import bill for 2014 because there was a 60 percent increase in local production,” he said.

Ghana currently imports rice to the tune of US$500million every year, while the annual bill for sugar hovers around US$300million.

Apart from these two commodities, US$1billion worth of others which are produced in Ghana or can easily be produced in Ghana are also imported -- pegging the country’s gross yearly exports of US$13billion against an imports bill of about US$17billion.

President Mahama said government will continue to provide the needed support for ‘smart’ local businesses, especially those in agro-production, to make them more sustainable and productive to push the country’s socio-economic transformation agenda.

“The quest of every government is to assist businesses to thrive through the formulation of enabling policies and interventions.

“As a government, we will continue to support indigenous businesses to make them more productive.”

Blue Skies Ghana Limited started operating in the country in 1998 at a small factory with 35 trained workers and now boasts three modern factories and a 3,800 workforce. It produces 550 tonnes of fresh-cut fruit per week and exports 30 tonnes to Europe each night.

Founder and chairman of Blue Skies Anthony Piles said the newly-inaugurated factory will increase Blue Skies’ daily production capacity from the current 40,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes and grow its workforce to 3,800, and it is expected to serve as a critical component in the company’s expansion and marketing strategies.

“Our third factory is born out of the desire to expand and employ more people; with an annual staff wage bill of US$6million, we are playing a part in the country’s economic development,” he said.