Ghanaian businesses likely to pay tariffs to UK after Brexit

The United Kingdom is supposed to receive the tariffs from the businesses based in Ghana on the goods exported from 2020. This is according to the new amendments after Britain's exit from the European Union.

This will reportedly be implemented if the government of Ghana fails to sign a continuity agreement for its exporters to enjoy the benefit of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Kingdom. The capital Accra-based Golden Exotic Ltd., which is one of the major fruits' exporters to the UK, has made an appeal to the Ghanaian government to have an agreement with the UK before the deadline of Brexit.

"I am sure the government is working behind the scenes to get things done for us but the issue is that all the contracts for banana and pineapple are done yearly so if an agreement is not signed, exporters will add about €114 a tonne for all bananas to the UK. I can tell you all the supermarkets have started adding on to the tender document for next year already because they haven't seen any agreement. €114 will translate into a loss for us because the time is too short for us to make any change and the earlier government moves in the better for us," Benedict Rich, Golden Exotic's Managing Director told Joy Business, as reported by Modern Ghana website.

On the other hand, Benedict Rich further said that there is a requirement for the interim Economic Partnership Agreement to be renegotiated country-by-country on different terms so that the trade can continue. "The bananas we produce suits so well with the UK and they take about 55 per cent of all our products exported into the European market. This means exporting to the UK will no longer be profitable and we may have to find a new market which you know can't be done within weeks," he added.

According to him, over 10,000 hectares of banana farm is under threat if the UK exits without a deal. If this happens, it will lead to less of jobs for the over 2,000 direct and indirect workers on the farm. Thus, Rich is also mounting pressure on the government of Ghana to renegotiate a rollover of the EPA agreement with the UK before October this year, Modern Ghana website noted.

Alternatively, some private companies based in Ghana have appealed the government to sign a bilateral agreement with the UK to guarantee existing trade relations between the two nations at the Brexit. The company would have no option but to veil its operations in Ghana if the government anyhow fails to reach an agreement with the UK at the Brexit, as reported by Graphic Online.

Also Read: Ghana: Food and Drugs Authority sends alarming message to social media agencies