Ghana’s Banana Exports Stagnating Due to Low Investment and Rising Input Costs

Some banana growers in Ghana and other African countries are unable to take advantage of the huge export market the EU offers due to low investments and the rising cost of farm inputs. As a result, Ghanaian banana growers are currently experiencing a low production level constituting just about 30% of what they used to produce in the past. Therefore growers are calling on the Ghanaian government for fertilizer subsidies, which constitute about 70% of their operational cost, to enable them to boost production. Ghana currently exports about 70,000 MT of bananas annually, mostly to the European market, and this could stagnate further without the necessary government support.