On 4 February 2021, The UK government announced a new Interim Ghana-UK Trade Partnership Agreement, ensuring duty-free and quota-free access for Ghana to the UK market.
While it is welcome news that negotiations have concluded and the framework has been agreed, tariffs will continue to be charged until the agreement is actually signed.
Continued tariffs (like the 9.5p per kg tariff on bananas arriving into the UK) mean continued losses for importers on every single shipment of goods from Ghana.
Among the affected companies are Fairtrade Certified producers, Golden Exotics Limited (GEL) who export around 45,000 tonnes of Fairtrade and organic bananas to the UK each year. In their first post-Brexit shipment to the UK in 2021, the company had to pay a £17,000 duty. In the last seven weeks, they have now paid approximately £120,000 in duties.
This rising cost of business is clearly unsustainable and, if continues much longer, is likely to affect the future viability of Ghanaian businesses, needlessly threaten the survival of the country’s banana industry (as well as other industries like cocoa) and push Ghanaian producers and farmers further into poverty.
We therefore urge the Government to sign a deal as soon as possible or, at the very least, to provide a 'bridging mechanism' that can provide relief in the interim. We also call for compensation for the sector for losses due to tariffs this year.
So I'm urging you to add your name to this NEW petition from my friend Ross Isdale to show that we want tariff free trade with Ghana to resume as soon as possible, and share it with your friends.
Thank you on behalf of my Fairtrade friends in Ghana
Joanna