Ghana to stop exporting raw materials – Osafo Marfo

Mr. Yaw Osafo Marfo, Senior Minister, has hinted at plans by government to halt the export of raw materials from Ghana to enrich other economies. “There will be no export of raw materials from this country. Government is determined that we are going to have value addition to our raw materials to create employment for our own people,” he said.

Mr. Marfo said this on Thursday at Batsona during the inauguration of the Tema West Municipal Assembly which was carved out of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).

Observing the effects that the exported raw materials has had on Ghana, he said, “We cannot have a situation in which our raw materials are used to create employment for people elsewhere whilst our people live in poverty.”

He said, “We want jobs for our people. The number one problem we have in Ghana today is unemployment, but we always export our raw materials unprocessed for them to process which brings a lot of revenue and create jobs for their people.”

“So government has resolved that it won’t allow the export of these materials without adding value to them here in Ghana”.

He said some countries had such a law, and that the government was currently looking at a draft legislation which would demand that all raw materials in Ghana should be processed before exported.

What Happens to the Cashew Sector If Vietnam Strictly Enforces Import Quota?



At present, Vietnamese initiative to control the import price of global raw cashew has no takers in India.

According to some trade sources, the first goal of a cashew factory is to reach a safe stock level. India needs huge imports at this stage as the summer holiday season is fast approaching. Ramadan month will start from May 15, which is the second highest consumption period in India after Diwali.

But we think that the production cut of 50000-tonne in kernel terms; if strictly regulated will reduce 15-17% in raw cashew imports.

A better harvest also reduces the dependence on costly imports.

So the total reduction in Vietnam’s raw cashew import may be 250000-300000 Tonnes by the year-end. Another addition to this figure is the ‘global level year on year increase’!

Vietnam pause to import Raw cashew nuts due to high prices


According to Dang Hoang Giang, Vice President of Vinacas, the price of raw cashew nuts in Africa has been blown. Specifically, the price of raw cashew nuts increased 30-40% while the price of cashews on the world market increased only about 10-15%. In 2017, the average price of imported raw materials is $ 1,956 / ton, the highest ever.


End-of-season crude prices in Africa are also rising in the first two months of the year. Due to the high price of raw cashew nuts, Vietnamese companies have temporarily stopped importing raw cashew nuts. Indian businesses have also made similar moves. Facing this situation, many forecasts show that, from March 15 onwards, the price of raw African rice will have to drop.


However, Ta Quang Huyen, Chairman of the Board of Hoang Son 1 Co., Ltd. said that even if the price of raw materials has decreased, Vietnamese enterprises do not need to import too much raw as 2017 ( over 1.3 million tons) with just 900,000 tons to 1 million tons.


According to Mr. Huyen, this year, weather conditions are quite favorable for cashew and fruit trees, so it is likely that the cashew in Vietnam will reach a good yield, can reach 400,000 to 500,000 tons. Similarly, the Cambodian cashew has many advantages, which can help Vietnamese cashew producers reduce import pressure from Africa.


Due to the volatile material situation, Vinacas and its member businesses have agreed to increase the quantity, focus on processing and develop the domestic market. Accordingly, the cashew industry targets to export cashew nuts in 2018 to 300,000 tons, instead of 362,700 tons as in 2017. This corresponds to a turnover of $ 3 billion in 2018, lower than 3.62 billion dollars compared with the previous year.


Setting up "reverse" as above may cause the agency to be dissatisfied. However, "In addition to reducing the price of raw materials to buy a reasonable level of about $ 1,800 / ton, the industry is no longer reducing prices. Therefore, if trying to increase export turnover in 2018 to $ 4 billion by purchasing materials at high prices as of 2017, the business only left a loss. In fact, we can not affect the selling price of cashew kernel depends on the market demand, "said Nguyen Duc Thanh, chairman of Vinacas.


In order to shorten supply and demand for raw materials for processing, Vinacas is cooperating with the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to develop raw material areas, aiming to increase output to 1 million tons in the next 10 years. /.