Ghana’s overall food import hits US$3.25 billion in 2024 – USDA

Ghana’s food and agricultural product imports from the world grew from US$2.68billion in 2023 to US$3.25billion last year, up 17.6 percent, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has indicated.

Imports of consumer-oriented products from the United States, according to the USDA, jumped from US$107million to US$147million, up by over 27 percent.

Indeed, consumer-oriented food products export represent the fastest-growing category for both the United States and the world.

The Department noted that the country remains a major importer of food and agricultural products, with huge prospects for US exporter businesses.

Best prospects for imported consumer-oriented food products, the USDA said, include poultry meat, various meat (beef and pork) products, dairy products, soups, bakery goods, cereals, pasta and non-alcoholic beverages.

While most of these categories witnessed strengthening imports, U.S.-origin dairy product volumes declined due to more competitive pricing from other origins.

In Ghana’s import market, U.S.-origin food commodities compete against those originating in the EU, China, Brazil, Turkey and United Kingdom (UK). Other competing suppliers include India, Malaysia, South Africa and Nigeria.

Consumer-oriented product prospects based on growth trends

Poultry meat and products are among the top consumer-oriented products from the United States heading to Ghana.

Last year, Ghana’s imports of U.S.-origin poultry alone grew from US$57.2million to nearly US$83million, up by 45 percent.

In 2025 (January-April) the country’s imports of U.S.-origin poultry are already at US$35million – up 70 percent compared to the same period in 2024.

During 2024 the trade in U.S. food preparations to Ghana hit a record high of nearly US$26million, up 56 percent compared to 2023.

So far in 2025, U.S exports are already at US$6.4million – up nearly 16.5 percent. Other growth products in 2024 include fruit and vegetable juices, beer, non-alcoholic beverages (excluding juice), confectionary and bakery goods, cereals and pasta.

Government interventions to curb imports

In a bid to reduce food imports and create a pathway to food sufficiency, government’s ‘Feed Ghana Programme’ was launched in April this year – expectedly marking a significant stride toward enhancing food security and propelling economic transformation through agriculture.

The initiative underscored the crucial need for a paradigm-shift in Ghana’s agricultural sector while dealing with persistent challenges such as low productivity, inadequate extension services and poor market linkages in the food production value chain.

The ‘Feed Ghana Programme’ is the broader Agriculture for Economic Transformation Agenda (AETA) initiative’s flagship . Aimed at modernising agriculture, it seeks to create jobs, reduce food inflation and foster agro-industrial development.