The Ghana EXIM Bank has said it is set to invest US$10 million into yam export.
This follows Ghana’s achievement as the largest yam exporter in the world with an annual production of 8.2 million metric tonnes.
Ghana now produces 8.2 million metric tonnes of yams annually as opposed to 7.8 million metric tonnes previously. In 2021, yam sales brought in a total of US$436 million.
Speaking at the bank’s maiden stakeholders’ engagement with players within the yam sector, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Exim Bank, Lawrence Agyinsam, said the bank is committed to assisting the entire yam value chain to increase the sector’s productivity and help maintain such feat.
Despite these improvements, data now in hand reveals that yam export has changed over time. The total amount of yams produced fell by 14.4% in 2021.
In 2017, it declined from 18.97 million to 8.5 million and increased to 13.68 million in 2019. But in 2020, it dropped to 13.8 million.
In a media interview, Agyinsam indicated that the US$10 million support for the sector has already been distributed and the bank has put strategic plans in place to ward off competition from other nations.
On the global charts, west Africa produces more yam than any other region in the world, with Nigeria leading the pack with roughly 67 percent of the crop, followed by Ghana with 10 percent.
Jamaica, which ranks second in yam exports, is Ghana’s main competitor in the export market.
