Ghana spent more than GH¢36.5 billion importing food products in 2025, with processed cereal grains, frozen chicken, animal products and rice accounting for a large share of the country’s food import bill.
According to the latest Annual International Merchandise Trade Statistics Report by the Ghana Statistical Service, the country imported food worth GH¢36.46 billion, underscoring its continued reliance on foreign markets to meet demand for key food commodities.
Processed cereal grains topped the list of food imports, costing GH¢2.94 billion and making up 8.1 percent of the total food import bill.
Frozen chicken was the second-largest food import at GH¢2.84 billion, followed by animal guts, bladders and stomachs, which cost GH¢2.72 billion.
Rice also remained one of Ghana’s biggest food imports. Semi-milled or wholly milled rice was imported at a cost of GH¢2.39 billion, while broken rice accounted for an additional GH¢1.19 billion.
Other major food imports included sugar, frozen fish, palm oil, mangoes and shea nuts.
Together, processed cereal grains, frozen chicken, animal products and rice accounted for about 30 percent of Ghana’s total food import expenditure, reflecting the country’s heavy dependence on imported staples and protein products.
The report highlights that despite ongoing efforts to boost agricultural production and promote import substitution, Ghana continues to rely significantly on food imports to meet local demand.
On the export front, however, the report points to encouraging growth in value-added agriculture and agro-processing.
Processed cocoa products, cashew nuts, tuna and shea-based products were among the country’s leading food exports, demonstrating the potential of Ghana’s agro-processing sector.
The findings reveal both the opportunities and challenges within Ghana’s agricultural economy.
While the country continues to earn foreign exchange from cocoa, cashew and other agricultural exports, it remains heavily dependent on imported food products consumed locally.
The report concludes that increasing domestic food production, expanding agro-processing and investing in value addition will be essential to reducing Ghana’s food import bill, strengthening food security and building a more resilient agricultural sector.
