Claim: Comparing total value of rice and poultry products imported into Ghana in 2016 and 2023
Source: Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed
Verdict: 1 FALSE, 1 TRUE
Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu
The Member of Parliament of Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed claims Ghana currently imports close to 3 billion dollars of rice and poultry products.
Speaking on TV3’s Big Issue programme on November 21, 2023, the legislator said the country’s current imports had ballooned compared to the about 500 million dollars that was used in importing the two food items under the previous government.
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“Before the NDC left office, we were spending about 500 million dollars on the importation of rice and poultry products into this country. Today, we are spending close to 3 billion dollars,” he said between 2 minutes 52 seconds and 3minutes 3 seconds.
This fact-check report seeks to verify the following;
- Whether Ghana spent about 500 million dollars on the importation of rice and poultry products under the former NDC government.
- Whether Ghana is spending close to 3 billion dollars on the import of rice and poultry products under the NPP government.
Fact-Check
To verify this claim, GhanaFact will rely on publicly available data from credible institutions, including the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
The Ghana 2023 Mid-Year Trade Report published by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) shows rice and poultry products are some of the top ten items imported into Ghana.
The 2023 Mid-Year Trade Report is the second in the series published by the Ghana Statistical Service which provides additional statistics on Ghana’s external trade with a specific focus on food, and intra-African trade.
According to the report, GH₵ 868.8 million, equivalent to 79 million dollars of frozen cuts and offal of fowl (Gallus domesticus – eg chicken), was imported into Ghana and ranked second on the importation table.
Meanwhile, GH₵ 583.8 million, equivalent to 53.1 million dollars’ worth of rice was imported.
So, the total value of imports for the two items, as published by the Ghana Statistical Service, is 132 million dollars, equivalent to GH₵ 1.45 billion.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim that Ghana imports close to 3 billion dollars’ worth of rice and chicken products is false and an exaggeration of the figures.
Claim 2
GhanaFact checks from data published by the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in relation to Ghana’s imports of rice and poultry meat in the last year of the NDC administration (2016) show the claim is true.
According to the data published by the OEC, in the last year of the NDC administration (2016), Ghana imported 119 million dollars of poultry meat and 373 million dollars of rice.
The total amount used in the importation of rice and poultry meat was $492 million.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim that Ghana spent about 500 million dollars to import rice and poultry products in 2016 is rated TRUE.
