Local products given the back seat
Over the years the Government of Ghana has made an effort to create a market for ‘Made in Ghana’ products and promote them. However, it has been noticed that products made in Ghana are the least stocked ones in high-end supermarkets compared to imported products. This is due to a lack of confidence among the consumers of Ghana to purchase local goods and many supermarkets in Accra do not find it lucrative to stock them.
A survey conducted in 2020 by ‘Konfidants’ – an international business advisory firm on top supermarkets and two retail outlets situated at fuel stations reveals that only 26% of the goods sold there were Ghana made. Although an improvement has been recorded on this front (in 2019 only 18% of the ‘Made in Ghana’ were sold in those outlets), there is a long way to go to improve the confidence level of the consumers as well as sellers with respect to Ghanaian products. Thus there appears to be a need for efforts to build awareness on products made in Ghana and bring out convincing reasons for Ghanaians to prefer locally made products over foreign goods. The price factor plays a major role in this regard and the cost of production in Ghana is relatively high. This issue needs to be addressed and the need for self-reliance has to be communicated which in turn will help in boosting the local economy.
