According to GUTA, the support to scrap the policy will be prudent if the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana and the Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association of Ghana do not extend their demands to all edible oil that is imported. In an interaction with Citi Business News, Joseph Obeng said though Ghana at the moment cannot produce enough refined vegetable oil, it is only right for multinational oil refineries in the country to purchase palm kernel and crude palm oil from local producers. “If they are talking about crude palm oil, we (GUTA) do not import crude palm oil (CPO) and crude palm kernel oil (PKO). The policy meant that importers had to pay duties of a 50% Benchmark Value for general goods at the ports and 70 percent of values for vehicles also at the ports. Despite recent reports of a review in the policy, GUTA has in recent weeks been urging for the benchmark policy to be maintained as they believe a move to review the policy will be 'suicidal' on the activities of the trading community.

Source: GhanaWeb September 07, 2021 18:45 UTC