Imported chicken meat in Ghana: A threat for domestic producers and a blessing for consumers?

Ghana imports large quantities of frozen meat products, such as poultry, from overseas. It is often argued that imported chicken products are lowering or impeding domestic production due to increased competition in Africa. In this context the EU agricultural and trade policies are often criticized. Therefore, a detailed analysis of the production and trade side as well as the consumer side will provide information about the impact of international agricultural trade. The objective of this paper is twofold: First, the paper aims to give an overview of recent and expected developments in meat production, demand and trade of Ghana. Second, the consumer perceptions and preferences regarding chicken meat are described. Statistical data shows that imported chicken meat is of high importance for the supply in Ghana. Chicken imports are more than three times higher than local production. Between 2009 and 2013, domestic production rose by 51 % and imports by 111 %. This trend seems to be continuing. Projections that we carried out with the MAGNET model show that indeed imports of pig and poultry meat from the EU will not increase substantially, but other countries like Brazil are expanding their production and exports and are gaining market shares in Ghana. Since poultry meat is the most consumed meat and highly preferred for its convenience, the increase of imported chicken meat will remain an issue for Ghana`s trade policy in the coming years.