President Mahama Bans Raw Mineral Exports by 2030

President John Dramani Mahama announced a strategic mandate to end the export of raw mineral ores, including bauxite, manganese, and iron ore, by 2030. Speaking at the Accra Reset Addis Reckoning event during the 39th African Union Assembly in Addis Ababa, Mahama stated that these materials must be processed locally to increase economic sovereignty and create jobs for youth to reduce migration to Europe.

As part of this industrial shift, the government is transitioning from foreign-backed financing for cocoa purchases to a system of domestic bonds. Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson confirmed this new system will begin in the 2026-27 season. This reform eliminates the use of cocoa beans as collateral for foreign loans, allowing the government to allocate 400,000 tonnes of beans to local processors and requiring at least 50 percent of cocoa beans to be processed within Ghana.

Parallel to these policy changes, Kofi Nsiah-Poku, President of the Association of Ghana Industries, urged the government to further accelerate export diversification. Following a National Council Retreat in Accra, Nsiah-Poku warned that Ghana remains vulnerable to global price fluctuations because gold, crude oil, and cocoa comprise nearly 80 percent of export earnings. He advocated for the promotion of non-traditional exports such as cashew and rubber, while calling for restrictions on imports of finished retail products like fruit juices and rice to protect the cedi.