Ghana to resume export of plant commodities to EU market

From January 1, next year (2018), Ghanaian farmers will resume exports of all plant commodities to the European Union (EU) market. 

This follows the European Commission's decision to lift the current ban on the exports of five plant commodities from Ghana to the European Union (EU) market. 
The five Ghanaian plants which   include chilli pepper, bottle gourds, luffa gourds, bitter gourds and egg plants will from January 1, 2018, have duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market like any other product from Ghana.

The five commodities will have to fulfill the EU phytosanitary legislation to ensure the freedom of quarantine pests.

This decision follows an audit undertaken from 12 to September 21, 2017 by the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission and the evolution of the numbers of import interceptions with quarantine pests notified by Member States for commodities not subjected to the ban. 

Since the beginning of the ban in October 2015, the Ghanaian authorities have taken significant corrective measures to improve the inspection and control system for plant health at exit points, in particular at Kotoka International Airport.

The European Commission congratulates Ghana for reaching this important milestone and encourages Ghana to consolidate the upgraded system and to continue further improvements in the phytosanitary certification system to obtain full compliance with the EU phytosanitary requirements.

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