Over 1.3 million tonnes of unsold Ghanaian rice, including 200,000 tonnes from 2024, are piling up due to cheap, expired, or smuggled imports.

Over 1.3 million metric tonnes of paddy rice, including 200,000 tonnes from the 2024 harvest, remain unsold in Ghanaian warehouses, according to farming groups. Farmers in regions like the Upper East, Northern, and North East face financial distress as local rice is undercut by cheap, expired, or smuggled imports. The Committee for the Promotion of Local Rice has called for a six-month import ban, stronger border controls, public institutions to buy only local rice, NAFCO funding, and a guaranteed minimum price, warning of a nationwide boycott of Farmer’s Day if demands are unmet.