The Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG) has called for stronger collaboration between government, Customs authorities, and other relevant agencies to curb the smuggling of cooking oil, which it says is crippling the domestic oil palm industry.
Dr. Paul Kwabena Amaning of OPDAG said the industry, currently undergoing significant structural reforms to meet growing domestic demand, is being undermined by illegal imports facilitated by compromised practices within the system.
Speaking on the Adekyee Mu Nsem morning show on Ahotor 92.3 FM in Accra, hosted by Citizen Kofi Owusu, Dr. Amaning noted that although there remains a shortfall of several thousand tonnes in meeting national demand, the local industry is positioned to supply approximately 260,000 tonnes of oil annually to the Ghanaian market.
He stressed that smuggled cooking oil, which often enters the market at lower prices, unfairly competes with locally produced oil and discourages investment in the sector.
Dr. Amaning described the government’s policy to revamp the oil palm industry as a step in the right direction but cautioned that without decisive action to halt smuggling, the President’s vision could be undermined.
He also commended the Finance Minister for taking steps to address the issue, describing the intervention as timely and necessary to protect the industry.
Finance Minister Moves to Block Transit Diversion Racket
In a related development, Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has ordered a comprehensive investigation after customs officers intercepted 18 articulated trucks suspected to be involved in a transit diversion scheme.
The trucks were reportedly hauling cooking oil and other goods declared as transit cargo destined for landlocked Niger. However, they were intercepted along the Dawhenya–Tema road without the mandatory Customs Human Escorts required under Ghana’s transit regulations — a breach that could have exposed the state to revenue losses exceeding GH¢85 million.
According to the Minister, the operation reveals both systemic control failures and deliberate human complicity within the customs system. He directed the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to commence immediate investigations.
The trucks had been electronically cleared from the Akanu Border Post for transit through the Eastern Corridor, with exit designated at Kulungugu en route to Niger under Bill of Entry Number 80226125039.
The declared cargo consisted of 44,055 packages of edible cooking oil, tomato paste, and spaghetti, weighing approximately 879,860 kilograms.
As of the latest update:
Twelve of the 18 trucks have been impounded.
Eleven are secured at the Tema Transit Yard under strict customs supervision.
One truck overturned while attempting to evade interception, spilling its cargo.
Six trucks remain at large and are being actively tracked.
Initial suspended duties and taxes were assessed at GH¢2.6 million. However, post-interception inspections uncovered material discrepancies in declared unit values, tariff classifications, and cargo weights, revising the potential revenue exposure upward to GH¢85.3 million.
The crackdown follows concerns raised by the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG), which had earlier urged the Finance Minister to tighten border controls to combat smuggling that undermines local manufacturers.
Under new directives, cooking oil consigned for transit to landlocked countries will no longer be allowed to move through land border collection points. Instead, such shipments must pass through Ghana’s seaports, where stricter valuation systems, electronic tracking, scanning infrastructure, and layered customs controls are in place.
Dr. Forson warned that any customs officer found culpable would face immediate disciplinary action, while criminal investigations would extend to importers and clearing agents where evidence warrants prosecution. Impounded goods will be auctioned in accordance with the law.
“We will not allow Ghana’s customs regime to be exploited to undermine domestic revenue mobilisation and national development. Every cedi matters,” he stated.
The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, described the intelligence-led overnight operation as a decisive blow against economic sabotage and a new benchmark in enforcement against revenue leakage at Ghana’s borders.