Deputy Trade Minister Begins Tour Of Export Companies, Visits Largest Banana Plantation peacefmonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from peacefmonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Fairtrade Africa has urged the government of Ghana and the United Kingdom to finalise a trade agreement to save fruit exporting companies.
Ghana and UK failed to finalise a trade agreement before the end of the BREXIT transition December 31, 2020.
It said although it welcomed the joint announcement by the Ghanaian Ministry of Trade and the UK Department of Trade earlier this month that an agreement had been reached to allow tariff free access the delay was impacting negatively on players in the industry.
“We call on both the UK and Ghanaian governments to immediately sign an agreement to bring this into effect. Fairtrade Africa also requests that exporters be compensated for the tariffs already paid as it will be unfair for them to bear the brunt of the two governments delay in finalising an agreement,” it said in a statement.
Ghana, UK must finalise trade agreement to save jobs —Fair Trade Africa ghanaiantimes.com.gh - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ghanaiantimes.com.gh Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Govt refuses calls to pay back Ghana banana tariffs
Despite pressure there are no plans to reimburse suppliers for unsustainable post-Brexit tariffs of £95 per tonne on Ghanaian bananas The UK accounts for around 40 per cent of Ghana s banana exports
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The UK government has said it does not plan to waive the extortionate post-Brexit tariffs paid on imports of bananas from Ghana amid calls for producers to be recompensed.
In the absence of a free trade agreement, Ghana was moved onto standard Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) terms at the end of the Brexit transition period. Bananas have faced the highest tariff of £95 per tonne.
Post Brexit trade deal with Ghana almost done but tariffs have already hit banana imports
Further to our report in November last year about the threat of Brexit to imports of bananas from Ghana, the UK and Ghanaian government announced on Tuesday this week that they have “reached a consensus on the main elements of a new trade agreement. This provides the basis to replicate, the effects of the existing trade relationship between the UK and Ghana”. The statement goes on to say “We intend over the next few weeks to finalise the text of the Agreement”.
This is welcome news for the many thousands of plantation workers whose livelihoods depended upon continued tariff free entry of Ghanaian bananas into UK markets. However, due to the delay in the respective governments reaching a deal in principle shipments of Ghanaian bananas arriving in UK ports this week have faced import tariffs.