The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Exporters Association, James Asaki Awunbutege, has revealed that European
countries are threatening to boycott Ghana's agricultural produce as a result of presence of heavy metals and cyanide
in them.
Mr Asaki made this stomach-churning statement on the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) radio program,
‘Behind The Headlines’ in Accra.
According to him, agriculture produce like yam, which is exported to Europe and other countries, has been spotted
as being unwholesome for consumption as a result of the presence of dangerous chemicals like mercury, cyanide,
which are inimical for human consumption.
He postulated that yams, cassava, cocoyams, taro, and sweet potatoes planted around Galamsey areas are not fit for
consumption, so their exportation faces serious challenge and stand no chance in the European and other Markets.
Mr. Asaki called on the government to fix the Galamsey problem because it would be very outrageous for an
exporter through no fault of his to lose his goods and capital, some of which are through bank loans.
He lamented that when Ghana is blacklisted, a lot of innocent traders and people in that value chain will go through
incalculable hardships.
“So the government must rise up and deal with the situation to ground the economy,” he said.
He intimated that when your goods are confiscated, they will be burnt or destroyed and not brought back to you.
Besides that, the country of export’s credibility will be affected in all parts of the world.
He advocated for the re-aligning of the Galamsey issue in order and deal with it in a very tactical way not to create
another group of unemployed youth who will also cause problems for the country because that's their source of
livelihood.
Apart from the tubers and crops, vegetables also stand no chance in Europe and are also facing a similar boycott.
He warned that if immediate remedy is not found, their association will join the demonstration to pull the
government to the middle.
Mr Awunbutege stated that even fishes in the rivers are going through the same ordeal, and it is about time the
country solved the problem.
“If Ghana cocoa, coffee, and cashew are affected, then that is the end of the road for all of us. Today, children are
born with deformities, challenges, and some are-still born, etc.,” he said.
He informed the host that the whole country is sitting on tenterhooks in terms of diseases, deaths, contaminated
water bodies, devastation of our forests, uncovered tranches, etc.
“All these serve as destruction to our survival,” he stated.
