Exporters flout raw rubber ban - Police, agents expose clandestine operations
There are growing fears about the enforcement of the government’s 10-year ban on raw rubber exports as fresh evidence emerges regarding ongoing exports of the product at Tema Port.
Further evidence has shown exporters moving raw rubber to Tema Port in particular, under the guise of exporting Ivorian-sourced raw rubber, albeit covered by suspicious documentation.
Reliable police sources confirmed to the Daily Graphic that a 40-foot truck, bearing the registration number GT 9315-25, and loaded with raw rubber, was intercepted last Saturday at the Biriwa Barrier, near Mankessim, on the Cape Coast-Winneba Highway heading towards Accra.
Accompanying the consignment was a Bill of Entry (BOE), No. 40526406241, and dated May 29, 2026.
The document described the commodity as raw rubber cup-lumps imported from Côte d'Ivoire, supported by an official customs receipt showing payment of GH¢5,997.78 in duties and taxes.
However, police sources said that upon examining the consignment and the accompanying customs documents, they further questioned why the cargo was being transported to Tema, given that there was no raw rubber processing factory in Tema that would justify transporting imported raw rubber over such a distance.
Having also sighted the government's directive banning the export of raw natural rubber, the police sources said the truck was not allowed to continue its journey.
It eventually returned to the Western Region with the consignment.
Missing documentation
The Customs documents sighted by the Daily Graphic raise several questions.
Although the BOE describes the cargo as imported from Côte d'Ivoire, the documentation did not indicate clearly critical information ordinarily associated with international agricultural trade, including the port of loading, port of discharge, a certificate of origin, a phytosanitary certificate, or corresponding Customs export documentation from Côte d'Ivoire.
Such documentation and information are critical in establishing the true origin of agricultural commodities, and verifying that they were legally exported from the country of origin.
The BOE accompanying truck GT 9315-25 declared a gross weight of approximately 3,000 kilogrammes, equivalent to three tonnes, far below the capacity of the fully loaded Shacman H3000 articulated truck, a vehicle typically used for heavy commercial haulage.
Transport operators consulted by the Daily Graphic estimated that a truck of that size carrying a full load of rubber cup-lumps would ordinarily transport between 30 and 35 tonnes.
The difference between the physical load and the declared weight could have significant implications for Customs valuation and revenue collection.
FOB value
Yet again, the Customs declaration put the cargo at a free-on-board (FOB) value, approximately GH¢5.82 per kilogramme, a figure significantly lower than the minimum indicative price of GH¢8.1933 per kilogramme announced by the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) for May 2026.
However, the valuation concerns do not end there. According to a May 2026 producer price bulletin published by APROMAC (Association des Professionnels du Caoutchouc Naturel de Cote d'Ivoire), the minimum producer price for natural rubber in Cote d'Ivoire was fixed at 439CFA francs per kilogramme for May 2026.
The APROMAC benchmark converts to approximately GH¢9.17 per kilogramme, using the Bank of Ghana exchange rate of 47.8981 CFA francs to GH¢1 on May 29, 2026.
The declared value and declared weight have implications for duties and taxes paid on a consignment.
Industry concerns
The interception and the suspicious documentation covering the consignment have heightened concerns among stakeholders about Customs’ role in enforcing the ban on raw rubber export, particularly after an exporter processed containers with raw rubber at Tema Port last Friday for export.
The Daily Graphic chanced upon the loading process at the port that morning and spotted a truckload of raw rubber, with registration number AS 853-12, entering the port the afternoon of the same day, suggesting the continued export of raw rubber from the country.
About five days earlier, the police had intercepted that same truck on the Cape Coast-Winneba Highway while it was transporting raw rubber towards Accra.
An agent working for AskRaf, a company known in the raw rubber export trade, confirmed to this paper that loading had happened at its instance at Tema Port last Friday for the intended export.
The agent, however, insisted that the product being processed for export originated from Cote d’Ivoire, and not from Ghana.
Interestingly, amid the claims of sourcing raw rubber from Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana’s western neighbour had banned the export of the product since November 2023.
A memorandum issued by Cote d'Ivoire's rubber regulatory authority and signed by its Director General on November 21, 2023, announced a complete halt of rubber cup-lump export from that country.
Industry players, therefore, question how raw rubber cup-lumps could have legally left Cote d'Ivoire, entered Ghana and subsequently been transported to Tema Port without the accompanying documentation usually associated with international agricultural trade.
RUPAG raises alarm
Stakeholders in the rubber industry said the developments undermined the objectives of the government's raw rubber ban policy, and that the continued movement of raw rubber towards export channels "clearly undermines the intentions behind the raw rubber export ban and undermines the instructions of the President, Cabinet and the Minister of Trade".
Some of them warned that the practice threatened investments in local processing, job creation and the implementation of the government's 24-Hour Economy agenda.
"More importantly, it undermines the economy, the effort to create sustainable jobs and to give effect to the government's 24-Hour Economy initiative," an industry source told the Daily Graphic.
Ban notice
By an administrative notice dated April 27, 2026, the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, announced a 10-year ban on raw rubber exports with immediate effect.
The ban was to ensure there was enough raw rubber for local rubber processors, job creation and value addition, in line with the 24-Hour Economy initiative.
