The Chamber of Agribusiness has called on the government to halt the importation of certain agricultural products, particularly tomatoes, as part of efforts to drive local production and support the 24-hour economy agenda.
Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Saturday, April 4, 2026, the Chief Executive Officer of the chamber, Anthony Morrison, said current levels of imports are undermining domestic industry and costing the country jobs and investment opportunities.
“For the past few months, the 24-hour economy secretariat has been going around trying to teach organisations how to realign their operations into the 24-hour framework. In the same way, other groups are also calling for private sector investment. But for that to happen, there is a need for the government to halt importation for certain things,” he said.
Morrison argued that Ghana’s heavy reliance on imported tomatoes is economically unsustainable and deprives the country of significant employment opportunities.
“We import almost $600 million of fresh tomatoes annually. We also import processed tomatoes in excess of $800 million annually. There are job losses — $561 million of job losses in terms of opportunities that we have created from where we import from. So we have to stop and block the importations,” he added.
He stressed that restricting imports would create space for local producers and agro-processing companies to expand, aligning with broader government efforts to boost industrialisation and round-the-clock economic activity.
The chamber’s position adds to growing calls for stronger protection of local industries as Ghana seeks to reduce import dependence and unlock job creation in the agricultural sector.
CitiNewsRoom
