Rubber producers have welcomed the government’s decision to halt the export of raw rubber, saying the move will strengthen local industry, boost job creation and significantly increase Ghana’s foreign exchange earnings.
In a statement, the Association of Natural Rubber Actors Ghana (ANRAG) said the policy shift was “instructive” and necessary, noting that Ghana has the capacity to process all the rubber it produces annually. While the country can process 178,420 tonnes per year, annual production stands at just 100,000 tonnes, leaving substantial idle capacity.
ANRAG warned that the recent surge in raw rubber exports posed a major threat to domestic processors and job security. The association said the decision to restrict raw rubber exports would “retain jobs and increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings” through enhanced value addition.
Presenting the 2026 Budget to Parliament, the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, announced that the government would introduce export restrictions under its new “Feed the Industry Programme”. “As part of efforts to secure a sustainable supply of raw materials for domestic processing and the development of the local value chains, the government will be restricting the export of raw rubber,” he told lawmakers.
The programme seeks to ensure that no raw materials are exported in a manner that creates jobs outside Ghana at the expense of local industries. Alongside rubber, the government has renewed the ban on non-ferrous metals and launched an oil palm initiative to expand production for local processing. It also plans to partner with the private sector to establish three garment factories in the Bono East, Central and Eastern Regions, expected to generate 27,000 direct jobs.
ANRAG President Emmanuel Akwasi Owusu described the government’s interventions as timely, saying they would strengthen component manufacturing for the automotive and machine parts industries. He noted that Ghana loses close to $100 million annually by exporting raw rubber with minimal value addition.
“When raw rubber is exported, it earns roughly $600 per tonne, but when the rubber is processed locally, the value increases to nearly $1,500 per tonne. This difference represents income and opportunity that should stay within Ghana,” Mr Owusu said.
He revealed that many domestic processors currently operate below 40 percent capacity due to limited access to raw materials, stressing that the industry “strongly believes” this must change to enhance Ghana’s industrial competitiveness.
Citing neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire which earned over $2.1 billion from rubber last year after imposing similar export restrictions Mr Owusu said the evidence clearly showed “the transformative effect of value-addition.”
