In order to meet the demands of residents, who might occasionally number between three and five per household, there is a constant need to buy products (mainly foodstuffs) almost every two weeks.
Even after 66 years of independence, Ghana still has difficulty undertaking large-scale local manufacturing of commodities and products for export, and it is well known that the nation still depends significantly on imports.
The rise in prices of goods and services across all industries, together with government levies, has had a significant impact on the cost of living in the nation as a result of the importation trend.
Most recently, it was reported that activity at Ghana’s main ports had decreased as a result of high duty taxes and other costs, including operation.
Five essential household items that you probably didn’t realize were imported into the nation.
Matches sticks
Match sticks are useful for the majority of houses using gas cooking burners. The Three-Legged Pot Safety Matches, which are made and imported into Ghana from Sweden, are the most notable.
The Swedish Match Industries, Aktiebolag, also registered and owns the trademark for the matchsticks box.
Rice
Despite possessing enormous tracts of land for rice farming, Ghana continues to import a significant amount of rice from countries like Pakistan, Korea, India, Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam, and the United States.
Even though local rice production has been the target of government marketing activities, this basic staple item continues to be widely imported from elsewhere.
Bic Pen
Most families in Ghana use pens for writing or paperwork, but most people will be surprised to learn that the well-known “Bic Pen” is imported into the nation from France.
According to designwanted.com, the Bic Pen was one of the best-selling pens in the world in 2006, selling more than 100 billion of them globally, or nearly 57 each and every second.
Fire Extinguisher
The most essential equipment for the majority of homes is a fire extinguisher, which can be used to put out disastrous fire outbreaks.
Ghana imports the majority of its Co2 fire extinguishers and spray guns from China, India, and the Netherlands, according to research.
Toilet paper
Ghana was the 87th-largest importer of toilet paper in the world in 2021, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), a website that visualises data on global commerce.
According to OEC data from the same year, toilet paper was Ghana’s 106th most frequently imported commodity. China ($33.4 million), Egypt ($2.1 million), Turkey ($2.02 million), Italy ($1.37 million), and Belgium ($532,000) are the countries Ghana imports toilet paper from the most.
