Import substitution of food products in Ghana

Ghana, a nation in which approximately 60 percent of the people are employed in agriculture, imported 78 million dollars (U.S.) worth of foodstuffs in 1970, 19 percent of total imports. Almost 15 percent of total consumer expenditure on food is spent on imports. Four of these food imports -- fish, beef, rice and sugar -- make up over 60 percent of Ghana"s food imports. All four of these foods are produced on a large though inadequate scale locally. This paper focuses on Ghana"s particular needs for import substitution, the current food situation in Ghana, the general trends in food imports, and the outlook for local production of the principal current food imports.