Convenor of the One Ghana Movement, Senyo Hosi, has accused rice importers of manipulating the market to undermine local producers, warning that the current policy framework makes it impossible for farmers to survive.
Hosi alleged that importers deliberately distort local prices by influencing the cost of paddy rice, effectively pricing local producers out of the market.
“They manipulate the market,” he said on JoyNews’ Newsfile, monitored by MyNewsGh. “Importers will buy small quantities at inflated prices just to redefine the market rate, forcing local producers to sell at a loss.”
He recounted his own experience as a large-scale rice farmer, explaining that after investing millions of cedis in production and modern milling facilities, he was forced to suspend operations because the economics became unsustainable.
“I had to suspend my work because I was incurring a cost of GH₵6,500 per ton,” he said. “The same importers who distorted the market came back to buy my paddy at GH₵4,500 when they realised I couldn’t sell. It was simple sabotage.”
Hosi proposed that government must align production policies with import quotas to protect local investments.
“If Ghana consumes one million metric tons of rice, importers should only be allowed a limited quota — say 100,000 tons — and must compensate with equivalent local production over time,” he suggested.
According to him, the absence of coordination between import regulation and local production policy has made Ghana a dumping ground for foreign rice.
“Even in the places where we produce rice, you find more imported brands on the shelves,” he observed.
He argued that the only way to stop market manipulation is for importers to have a stake in local production. “If the one importing is also producing, there’ll be balance,” he noted. “But as it stands, they’re just gaming the system.”
Hosi also questioned the reliability of official data on rice production, saying government institutions lack accurate figures.
“They don’t even know how much local rice is produced. I was one of the major producers, and nobody ever asked me how much I was producing,” he said.
