‘Industries must invest in local raw materials’
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Yakubu Alhassan, has called on industries to reduce their dependence on imported raw materials for manufacturing and invest in the local raw materials supply chain, by sourcing for them locally.
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He said this at the second Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) Domestic Value Creation workshop held in Accra. The workshop sought to engage key stakeholders in understanding the effects of local sourcing in Ghana and explore opportunities throughout the value chain.
According to the Minister, GGBL had shown tremendous capability, transforming the agriculture sector through the use of raw material sourced locally from 12 per cent usage in 2012 to 48 per cent in 2015.
He said it was through such initiatives that farmers could move from the traditional subsistence farming to commercial farming and thereby creating life changing opportunities for local farmers and the entire value chain.
A research report shared by Deloitte UK, an independent research and audit firm, highlighted in detail the economic impact of the local raw materials tax concession in the Ghanaian beverage market.
The report emphasised the need for any amendments to policies affecting domestic value creation to consider the potential short term economic costs and benefits as well as the long-term impact caused by disruptions to the investment environment.
The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry. Kweku Ricketts-Hagan added the need to look at the bigger picture in terms of creating an attractive environment for industries that will improve the livelihoods of Ghanaians, especially local farmers and SMEs.
He commended GGBL’s effort in promoting the Made-in-Ghana agenda which is being championed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
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The Ag. Corporate Relations Director of GGBL, Ms Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson said “We have seen the impact that the excise concessions are bringing to Ghana and industry.
Since 2012, GGBL has focused on local sourcing with the aim of generating long-term business value with locally and sustainably sourced raw materials which meet quality standards and have a positive impact on the communities and environment in which we operate”.
The long-term benefit of the local raw material concession for industry is enormous as we have learnt from our Diageo businesses in East Africa. GGBL is committed to investing throughout the supply chain to increase LRM usage to 80 per cent by 2020 provided the policies and opportunities support such thriving initiatives.