Senyo Hosi: The Decision To Discontinue Foreign Exchange

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Former Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD) CEO Senyo Hosi has stated that the government’s decision to stop providing foreign exchange support for rice imports is not a well-thought-out strategy.

Senyo Hosi: The decision to discontinue foreign exchange support for imports of rice was poorly thought through.

Although there may be goodwill that will impact the decision, he said the policy proposal is reckless and accomplishes nothing to address the issue it was intended to address.

Hosi claimed that in order to develop a more solid and long-lasting policy proposal for the 2023 budget, the administration neglected to consult important stakeholders in the agricultural sector, particularly in the rice sector.

On Joy News’ “PM Express,” he added that the removal of foreign exchange support for rice importers would hurt Ghanaians more than it would increase domestic output.

Senyo Hosi noted that if importers are unable to bring in rice, a 57% deficit will be formed that local rice producers will not be able to fill.

“Therefore, you have this amazing 57%, which equates to nearly a million tonnes of milled rice. Who will step in to fill the void? What legal framework do you have in place that we can use to bridge the gap? Because we need to farm somewhere about 450 hectares in order to make up the difference. What will happen if you don’t do it, which implies that local manufacturing won’t make up the difference? We’ll continue to import.

The cost of the dollar for those items will rise since we won’t be using Bank of Ghana dollars; instead, we’ll hunt for other currencies. Who will be the one to profit? The FX dealers, he declared.

What you might have done, he added, “is instead imposed a rice development levy or tax, whatever name you want to call it, then you use that money to help support industry grow the four hundred and fifty or so hectares required to be able to gradually phase out imports. What have you done, though? What you’ve done thus far does not constitute local production.

“You don’t have the right policies to genuinely support or finance us as we increase capacity. Therefore, you will generate income for FX traders who will be sitting down and examining global commodity swaps for rice and other goods. I didn’t see the sense in that policy yesterday, and I don’t see it now.

“I sense a nice heart wanting to accomplish a good thing, but he hasn’t given his plan any thought. Unfortunately, he isn’t consulting. That rule is invalid.