Ghana’s textile and garment manufacturers have issued a clear warning to government authorities: without urgent reforms to customs procedures and port operations, the country risks losing orders and undermining its ambition to become West Africa’s leading garment manufacturing hub.
The concerns were raised during a two-day Public-Private Dialogue on Textile and Garment Trade Facilitation Challenges held in Sogakope, Volta Region. The forum, organized by the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry in partnership with TradeMark Africa (TMA), brought together government agencies, development partners, manufacturers, and trade stakeholders to address persistent operational obstacles within the sector.
Customs Delays and Port Misalignments Under Scrutiny
Deputy Minister Sampson Ahi, who led the government delegation, acknowledged that manufacturers face a chain of constraints, including customs clearance delays, compliance burdens, logistics bottlenecks, and limited access to trade facilitation schemes that exist in principle but remain difficult to utilize in practice.
Among the immediate measures under consideration is the expansion of the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Scheme, which offers faster cargo clearance, reduced inspections, and greater predictability for compliant exporters. Ahi also called for better alignment between the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) and the operational realities of garment factories, noting that current systems are not designed to match production timelines.
TradeMark Africa’s West Africa and AfCFTA Director, Harriet Odembi Gayi, highlighted the operational breakdowns manufacturers say are eroding competitiveness. These include customs system downtimes, documentation delays, misaligned port operating hours, and early gate closures that force factories to hold finished goods beyond commercially viable timelines.
According to Gayi, these inefficiencies raise operating costs, compromise delivery reliability, and weaken investor confidence in Ghana as a sourcing destination.
Industry Ready for Expansion — If Conditions Improve
Private sector representatives emphasized their readiness to scale operations, including transitioning to 24-hour, three-shift production models. However, they stressed that such capital-intensive commitments require a predictable trade environment. Customs windows must align with factory schedules, digital systems must function consistently, and approval processes must operate within defined timeframes.
Participants pointed to the sector’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic as proof of its latent capacity. At the height of the crisis, Ghana’s garment industry produced more than 14 million facemasks, demonstrating its ability to mobilize quickly when policy coordination and private sector engagement were aligned.
The government’s efforts to finalize the Ghana Textiles and Garments Manufacturing Policy were also discussed, with plans for plug-and-play industrial parks forming part of the broader industrialization agenda.
The dialogue concluded with joint commitments from government, industry, and development partners to translate recommendations into actionable reforms. Officials confirmed that the outcomes would inform inter-agency coordination improvements and broader trade environment adjustments aimed at strengthening Ghana’s textile and garment sector competitiveness.
