Select Committee on Trade supports move to restrict Raw Rubber Exports

Parliament’s Select Committee on Trade and Industry has thrown its weight behind the government’s decision to restrict the export of raw rubber in the 2026 budget statement, describing the move as critical in protecting local jobs, ensuring value addition and sustaining Ghana’s industrialisation drive.

During a working visit to three local processing companies, Yaeric Rubber Processing Ltd, Golden Latex Rubber Products Ltd and the Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd (GREL) in the Western Region, both the Committee Chairman and the Ranking Member offered strong backing for the policy, which was explicitly captured in the 2026 Budget.
The Association of Natural Rubber Actors of Ghana (ANRAG) has also endorsed the decision, insisting that Ghana has the capacity to process all rubber produced in the country.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism and Member of Parliament for Central Tongu, Alexander Gabby Hottordze said “We Cannot Allow Job Losses and Middlemen Abuse to Continue”, Committee Chairman said the unregulated exploitation and exportation of raw rubber had created room for “unscrupulous middlemen” to profit at the expense of farmers and domestic processors.
He noted that the practice had already contributed to job losses—forcing some displaced workers into illegal mining—as factories struggled to operate below capacity due to reduced raw material supply.

“The President’s vision is clear: no product should leave Ghana unprocessed. Value addition will create jobs, feed our factories, and support the 24-hour economy.

“We are lawmakers, and we will ensure the law works. Any steps toward export must be in consultation with the local industry,” he stressed.
He added that the Committee had already initiated engagements with relevant ministries to ensure swift implementation of the policy once the accompanying Legislative Instrument (L.I.) is laid before Parliament.

Ranking Member and Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Yaw Okyere Baafi said “Government Has Taken a Bold Decision, Now We Must Back It With Law”, The Ranking Member commended government’s “bold, clear and irreversible” policy stance on restricting raw rubber export in the 2026 Budget.

“The minister gives policy direction, and the ministry will bring the L.I. to Parliament. This time, no one can export raw rubber from Ghana to the detriment of local industry supply. Exportation is restricted,” he stressed.
He argued that a similar regulatory approach had strengthened Ghana’s cement industry, expressing confidence that rubber processing would experience the same transformation once the new L.I. is enforced.

ANRAG: “We Can Process All Ghana’s Rubber, No Farmer Will Lose”
Secretary of the Association of Natural Rubber Aggregators (ANRAG), Perry Acheampong, also welcomed the government’s move, dismissing claims that processors are short-changing farmers.

“Prices are set by the Tree Crops Development Authority. Processors all pay above the minimum approved price. No farmer loses anything by selling locally,” he stated.
According to him, processors have an existing memorandum of understanding with traders and aggregators to buy all their rubber, meaning there is no justification for exporting raw rubber.

Perry noted that Ghana’s processors currently have an installed capacity of about 178,000 tons but the raw material production is estimated to be about 110,000 tons per annum, which clearly indicates that all the raw material can be processed locally for the country to benefit from value addition.

He said the restriction would restore factory operations, many of which have cut down shifts, with some now working only a few days a week.“Value addition is the President’s vision. When we process rubber here, nobody loses a job — not the farmer, trader, aggregator, transporter or freight forwarder. Everyone gains,” he emphasised.
He added that Ghana’s peers, including the Ivory Coast, Liberia and Guinea-Bissau, have all banned the export of raw rubber to protect local industries—a model Ghana should emulate to build a competitive sector.

SELECT COMMITTEE CHAIR
During the visit, the Chairman of Parliament’s Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism expressed deep concern about the impact of raw rubber exports on local processors, most especially Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL), warning that the situation is creating conditions that could worsen rural unemployment and, indirectly, fuel illegal mining.

His comments followed detailed presentations by the Secretary of ANRAG that painted a dire picture of how the rising export of raw rubber was starving local processors of essential feedstock.

According to the Chairman, the Committee is now fully seized with the facts and is prepared to escalate the matter to the floor of Parliament.
“Frankly speaking, the starvation of this particular industry is causing more harm than good,” he said adding “apart from denying GREL and other local processors of raw materials and pushing the local processors to operate far below capacity, we are losing jobs.”

He revealed that GREL’s factory workforce has dropped from about 630 employees to a little over 400, a development he described as both alarming and dangerous for the stability of communities that depended on the company’s payroll.
He warned that widespread job cuts in agro-processing areas could push unemployed youth toward illegal mining activities.

“An empty hand is a tool for the devil. When people lose their monthly income, they will necessarily have to look for alternatives. This is how some end up in galamsey. We cannot claim to be fighting illegal mining with one hand while promoting it with the other,” he cautioned.

The Chairman also suggested that the Committee had picked up information indicating that a few individuals were profiting from the unregulated export trade at the expense of national interest.
He disclosed that prior to the release of the 2026 Budget Statement, the Committee had briefed the Minister of Finance on the findings from earlier engagements with GREL.

He welcomed government’s decision, announced in the budget, to restrict the export of raw rubber from 2026 as a step in the right direction.
The Committee, he added, will pursue further consultations with the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry and Ministry of Food and Agriculture to fashion out a sustainable framework that protects local processors, secures jobs, and increases value addition in the rubber sector.

Praising GREL for its extensive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, including nursery support and community projects, the Chairman said companies that invest meaningfully in host communities deserve stronger policy protection.

 

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