Ghana Grain Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Ghana Grain Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Ghanian grain market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period (2022-2027). According to a recent study by the food and agriculture investor Rabobank, the grain and oilseeds market felt the impact of COVID-19 in terms of deglobalization of supply chains and declining biofuels demand amid increasing concerns about food security. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana faced challenges in terms of wastage of the previous grain stock due to supply chain disruptions, price hikes of grains and cereals due to limited supply, and delayed harvesting of seasonal crops due to labor shortage.

The Ghanian grain market caters mainly to domestic demand. The grain market includes cereals, pulses, and oilseeds. Ghana is not a self-sufficient country in the cereal market, and various cereals are imported from other countries to satisfy domestic needs. According to FAO, maize is the most widely cultivated cereal, with a production of 3.1 million metric ton in 2020. Rice and sorghum are the most cultivated crops in Ghana, after maize, with production totaling 973 thousand million metric ton and 356.0 thousand metric ton, respectively. Beans and peas are the most widely cultivated pulses, while groundnut is the most cultivated oilseed. As the trend suggests, the grain market in Ghana is expected to witness slow but steady growth over the forecast period.

Maize is one of the most important crops for Ghana's agricultural sector and food security. Maize is the major grain cereal in Ghana, as it is grown in the entire agro-ecological zone. It occupies about 31.0% of food crops under cultivation and constitutes 70.0% of cereal production. Maize is a widely consumed and cultivated staple crop in Ghana. It accounts for more than one-quarter of calories consumed. About three-quarters of maize consumption is from its local production.

According to FAO, the production of maize increased to 3.1 million metric ton in 2020 compared to 2.0 million metric ton in 2017. An increase in the production of maize is due to the high demand for domestic consumption, where the per capita consumption accounts for 40 kg/year, as recorded in 2017. Thus, the growing need to meet domestic consumption is expected to drive the grain market in Ghana.

Ghana is an importer of rice and wheat. The Government of Ghana has brought many structural changes in its policies, favoring the regional development of grains to boost domestic production by reducing imports. In 2017, the government introduced a 50.0% subsidy on rice and corn seed and fertilizers to spur domestic rice and corn production. Through this subsidy, the government intends to reduce its imports by 10.0% by 2020.

The Ghana Grains Council, in collaboration with various stakeholders, has brought a standardized pricing policy to promote competitiveness in the country’s grain industry. Further, the council partnered with FinComEco, a company that offers fully integrated financial & commodities ecosystem services, to develop projects and initiatives in the agricultural commodity sector, especially grains, in the region.

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support