Rubbber processors demand export ban - FOB under-declaration push industry to the brink

Local rubber processors are seeking an outright ban on raw rubber exports to save the processing factories from total collapse.

They said the industry was already starved of raw rubber, the main raw material for processing, despite heavy investments in the establishment of the processing infrastructure.

In spite of government's stated position of enforcing restriction on the export of raw rubber, the reality of unregulated exports continue to undermine the intention while posing risk to jobs for the youth.

Since the start of 2025, the industry is said to have cut more than 30 per cent of its workforce, with the industry players arguing that the prevailing situation was counter to the job-creation intentions behind the 24-Hour Economy policy of the government.

The government announced through the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, during the presentation of the 2026 Budget Statement in November 2026 that the export of raw rubber would be restricted “as part of efforts to secure sustainable supply of raw materials for domestic processing and the development of the local value chain”.

The industry supervisor, Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA), however, said the declaration in the budget was only a restriction rather than a complete ban.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TCDA, Dr Andy Okrah, acknowledged the government’s determination to address the situation but insisted that the current policy was not an outright ban.

Dr Okrah, who heads the body that supervises activities in the rubber, shea, coconut, oil palm, mango and cashew businesses, told the Daily Graphic that he introduced a permit regime in 2025 when he assumed the reins at TCDA as a measure to contain unrestrained exports in the rubber sub-sector.

He stressed that when the government announced a total ban, the TCDA stood ready to enforce it without hesitation.

Processors concerned

But the Rubber Processors Association of Ghana (RUPAG) insists the situation requires urgent attention.

The Secretary of the association, Perry Acheampong, warned that several processing companies could collapse within months if urgent action was not taken.

He said several companies were struggling to repay huge loans secured to establish their factories because of the lack of adequate raw materials to operate profitably.

Mr Acheampong said although Ghana currently had installed processing capacity exceeding 170,000 tonnes annually, national raw rubber production stood at only about 110,000 tonnes in 2025 — a figure already insufficient to sustain local factories.

He said large quantities of the limited raw material continued to be exported, leaving factories idle for most of the year.

Data available to the Daily Graphic indicate that five local rubber processors who employed a a total of 1,238 people in 2024 reduced their employment figures to 815 in 2025, a 34 per cent reduction of jobs in the industry across one year.

Lucrative exports

Raw rubber export appears to have become a lucrative channel recently, with official documents revealing staggering figures of under-invoicing of export values.

Official customs documents seen by the Daily Graphic indicate that although the average purchase price for raw rubber as announced by TCDA in 2025 stood at GH¢9.08 per kilogramme, some exporters declared average Free on Board (FOB) export values as low as GH¢1.91 per kilogramme.

For instance, customs documents available to the Daily Graphic show that Triton International Limited quoted raw rubber export value at GH¢0.069 per kilogramme in one instance and at an average of far lower than GH¢1 per kilogramme in 2025 even when the price of raw rubber set by the TCDA averaged more than GH¢8 per kilogramme.

A second company, and 3RD I, which share a common ownership with Triton International Limited, similarly declared FOB prices of raw rubber exports at an average far less than GH¢1 in 2024.

Officials of the companies are yet to respond to queries from the Daily Graphic, 13 days after making contact with them.

The growing raw rubber export trade has increasingly attracted traders and aggregators who purchase large volumes from farmers and channel them to exporters instead of supplying the local off-taker processing factories, even though local processors offer competitive prices to farmers. 

Intervention needed

Mr Acheampong commended President John Dramani Mahama and his government for the decision to restrict raw rubber exports taking in an attempt to protect the local rubber industry, stressing, however, that the critical challenge now lay in the swift implementation and strict enforcement of the directive to save local processing companies from collapse.

He said the government had already demonstrated strong commitment to sustaining the industry through a series of interventions aimed at promoting local value addition, safeguarding jobs and protecting indigenous investments.

“The government has shown clear commitment to supporting the local rubber processing industry.

What remains now is effective enforcement to ensure the policy achieves its intended purpose,” he stated.

Mr Acheampong, however, warned that unless urgent and decisive action was taken within the shortest possible time, many local processors, mainly indigenous Ghanaian-owned businesses, could be forced to either shut down operations or sell their factories to foreign investors due to mounting financial pressures and persistent raw material shortages.

“It will be unfortunate if these indigenous companies are allowed to collapse or taken over by foreign interests because of avoidable challenges within the sector,” he said.

The largest rubber processing company in Ghana, the Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL), has significant local ownership, including a 26.75 per cent stake held by the government and an additional nine per cent held by another indigenous Ghanaian investor.

“Already, some companies have sold their factories, while others may follow if the frustrations continue,” Mr Acheampong added.

At the close of 2023, a processor, Apex, had virtually shut down production, while another company, Golden Latex, till date is yet to commence operations altogether.

The remaining players in the industry — GREL, RPG, Narubiz, CCLE and Yaeric — are all said to be operating under intense pressure.