"We're ready to buy rice produced here"

Page 3, July 31, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Director of Corporate Affairs at the Finatrade Group of Companies, Mr John Awuni, has given the assurance that the group has the market potential to purchase any quantity of rice that will be produced in the country.
“It will, therefore, be wrong for any rice farmer in the country to claim that he has no market for his produce,” he said.
Speaking to members of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism, Mr Awuni said Finatrade had been marketing rice produced in the country since 2001.
Continental Commodities Trading Company (CCTC), a subsidiary of the Finatrade Group of Companies, is one of the major importers of rice from a number of rice-producing countries world-wide for sale in countries in the West African sub-region.
The visit of the parliamentary committee was, therefore, to find out whether the recent removal of import duty on rice and other commodities, as announced by President J. A. Kufuor, had had any positive impact on the ordinary Ghanaian.
Answering questions from the MPs, Mr Awuni explained that since 2001, when the company started dealing in rice produced in the country, it had not been able to get the quantity needed from Ghanaian rice farmers.
He explained that after lending some Ghanaian farmers about GH¢1.7 million for the supply of 100,000 bags of rice, the beneficiary farmers were able to supply only 10,000 bags.
Commenting on the effects of the removal of import duty on rice, the Managing Director of the Finatrade Group, Mr Nabil Moukarzel, noted that the decision had helped to reduce the smuggling of rice from Ghana to neighbouring countries.
He added that when the President made the announcement for the removal of import duty, prices of rice were rising on a daily basis, saying that prices of the commodity had now stabilised.
Mr Moukarzel said the company complied with the President’s mitigating measures, which later received parliamentary approval, by reducing the prices of rice it had imported after the President’s measures had received that approval.
He stated that the company had put in measures to sanction customers who added more than the expected profit to their consignment in order to benefit from the removal of import duty from rice, to the disadvantage of the ordinary consumer.
Mr Moukarzel noted that the company had been up to its social responsibilities, explaining that 20 university students pursuing studies in Agriculture had been offered scholarships to enable them to venture into large-scale food production after their education.
In addition, the company also assisted the Black Stars with $100,000 when they participated in the 2006 World Cup in Germany and also assisted the team with $200,000 when Ghana hosted the 2007 Africa Cup of Nations.
Responding, the Chairman of the committee and MP for Abuakwa North, Mr J. B. Danquah Adu, commended the company for taking measures to ensure that the decision of the government had the necessary impact on the people.
He called on it to establish a refinery to process palm oil produced in the country to ensure the success of the President’s Special Initiative (PSI) on oil palm to enable farmers in that sector to benefit from the sweat of their toil.