The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has called for a national trade policy requiring foreign-owned shopping malls in Ghana to dedicate a fixed proportion of their shelf space to locally manufactured products.
AGI Chief Executive Officer Seth Twum-Akwaboah made the proposal on Monday, November 9, while speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani.
His comments followed complaints from women traders in Sunyani Central Business District, who said Chinese-owned shopping malls were putting pressure on small-scale retailers by selling goods at lower prices.
Last week, Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) President Clement Boateng said newly opened Chinese-owned shopping malls were believed to account for about 60 per cent of Ghana’s retail market. He called on the authorities to examine their operations and the repatriation of profits.
Although petty trading in markets is reserved for Ghanaians, foreign investors are allowed to operate large shopping malls and supermarkets if they meet statutory capital requirements.
Twum-Akwaboah said the AGI did not object to foreign investors developing modern retail facilities, arguing that they could increase competition. However, he said regulations were needed to determine the balance between imported and locally produced goods sold in those outlets.
“ If it’s only foreign or Chinese wares that they are selling then that is really unacceptable and a policy must ensure that they sell a certain percentage of local products,” the Association of Ghana Industries chief executive said.
He argued that a compulsory local-content shelf quota would give domestic manufacturers greater access to consumers, reduce reliance on imports and support job creation for Ghanaians.
With Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson scheduled to present the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Thursday, November 12, Twum-Akwaboah urged the government to set out measures to protect local industries from unfair trading practices.
He also appealed for increased budgetary assistance and medium-term development finance to help factories expand output, lower their unit costs and increase their share of the market.
The support, he said, would be particularly important as businesses operate under the government’s 24-hour economy initiative and the “Big Push” road infrastructure programme.
Twum-Akwaboah also raised concerns about the cost of electricity for industry. He said cumulative tariff increases had surpassed 40 per cent for many large-scale manufacturers, adding to the pressures facing local producers.
