Browse Data and Analysis

FAS Accra (Post) forecasts Ghana’s MY 2025/2026 (July-June) wheat imports at 1.0 million metric tons (MMT), up five percent from the MY 2024/2025 estimate of 950,000 MT.

Ghana’s imports of food processing ingredients surpassed $1.24 billion in 2024, up 44 percent from $857 million in 2023.

Ghana's cocoa bean production in marketing year (MY) 2024/2025 (October-September) is expected to climb to 700,000 metric tons (MT), up 32 percent from the MY 2023/2024 season's 531,000 MT production figure.

Total Saudi wheat imports for 2025/26 are forecast to decline 10 percent to 3.2 million metric tons (MMT), due to projected high local production. Saudi barley imports for MY 2025/26 are projected to increase by 10 percent to 3.3 MMT compared to last MY.

On February 5, 2025, the Ghana Food and Drug Authority (Ghana FDA) issued public notice FDA/DRI/DMS/GL-ADV/2023/01. The notification is intended to inform stakeholders and the public that new Draft Guidelines on the Advertisement of Regulated Products have been developed.

Coastal West Africa’s Ghana shows signs of possibilities for expanding imports of halal certified food and agricultural products. It evidences promise thanks to the increasing number of halal product consumers in country and in the region.

The HRI sector is witnessing remarkable growth, fueled by urbanization, a surging population, rising disposable incomes, shifting social and cultural trends, and a thriving tourism industry. The Saudi food retail market, currently valued at $30 billion, is projected to grow by another $15 billion by 2030.

The ongoing transformation of Saudi Arabia bodes well for the retail food sector. In 2023, the Saudi food retail market was estimated at more than $51 billion and projected to increase by more than 5 percent annually in the coming years due to the continued urbanization, growing population, changing shopping habits, expansion of physical store locations , and increasing popularity of online platforms.

Ghana in 2024 has experienced drought-induced crop failures and low yields in eight out of its 16 administrative regions. FAS Accra (Post) consequently is revising up Market Year (MY) 2024/2025 import figures for wheat, corn, and rice due to reports of crop failures in some regions of the country and increased consumption.

Ghana is in economic recovery mode following the double hits of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak of 2020 and the macroeconomic crisis of 2022. The Ghanaian hotel-restaurant-institutional (HRI) sector is evidencing a promising upward trajectory.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients. As a result, many retail packaged food importers do not import biotech foods due to concerns that biotech labeling could jeopardize their image.

FAS Accra observes Ghana making appreciable advancements in the field of plant biotechnology (biotech). The country is expanding its agricultural biotech crops developmental and production capabilities.