GHANA – FISH FAIR 2022

The 3rd National Fish Fair was observed in Accra with quite an amount of fanfare and increasing recognition of aquaculture as the sector with the best potential of helping Ghana close the wide gap between fish demand and supply. The Secretary of the Ghana Fisheries Association, Mr. Richster Nii Amarh Amarfio, said that with the marine sector producing well below capacity, Ghana would continue to rely on fish imports for some time. According to the USDA’s Ghana Seafood Report, ” Ghana has one of the highest rates of dependence on fish for nutrition in Africa, with fish providing 60 percent of animal protein intake and estimated per capita fish consumption at 25 kg “, Ghana imported over 600,000 tons of the 1.2 million tons of fish consumed in 2021.

On display at the Fair were quite an array of fish products from various sections of the industry. The stand of Troppo Farms, which accounts for over 40% of national tilapia production, was jammed with patrons sampling grilled tilapia with ‘banku’ or fried yam with hot sauce, and the Ghana Chefs Association gave an indication of its forthcoming National Tilapia, Catfish and Shrimp promotion programme by gave patrons a taste of what some great fish delicacies.

The President of the Ghana Aquaculture Association, Mrs. Jennifer Sodji-Tagbor, said that a
major part of the work of our Association will involve quality improvement and value addition.
We have spent a lot of time complaining about the effects of high feed prices on our business.
But as we support efforts to solve this problem, we believe we can attract better prices by
improving quality and adding value. We are therefore going to emphasize quality management
and good product presentation in our training programmes. And we are taking a giant step
forward with value addition. We will be talking to our colleagues in the National Fish Processors
and Traders Association, who have made major strides in processing. We will be working with
them to ensure that a significant part of fish farm output is processed. There are some interesting
products which will be coming out soon. And we are seriously targeting the export market. I am
confident that our industry is about to become a major factor in the national economy’.

*Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture (right) with Mrs. Mabel Quarshie, Treasurer, and Mr. Francis de Heer, National Organiser, of the Ghana Aquaculture Association*

Ghana exports wild catfish and other fish products, from which she earns quite a decent amount. A report by www.oec.world says that ‘In 2020, Ghana exported $1.92M in Processed Fish, making it the 86th largest exporter of Processed Fish in the world. At the same year, Processed Fish was the 100th most exported product in Ghana. The main destination of Processed Fish exports from Ghana are: Canada ($1.07M), United States ($453k), Hong Kong ($207k), Netherlands ($67.8k), and Belgium ($52.3k). Under the GNADP, it is expected that fish farmers will export substantial amounts of other processed fish.