Milking challenges while drinking foreign milk: the case of Ghana’s dairy sector

Abstract

While the domestic milk production sector of Ghana remains stagnant over the years, dairy processing on the other hand is continually witnessing growth relying largely on milk powder and other dairy products imports mainly from EU member countries. The EU is blamed for the underdevelopment of the domestic dairy sector of many African nations. However, evidence that either prove or refute these growing criticisms are missing. This study was thus initiated to examine Ghana’s dairy sector with an emphasis on those parts of the value chain where imported milk powder is used. The study shows that the dairy processing industry is continually expanding relying largely on milk powder imports mainly from EU member countries. Also, processors expect an increase in consumer preferences for more diversified dairy products in the near future. This implies further growth of the processing industry which already relies largely on imported input. The study identified myriads of challenges facing the Ghanaian dairy sector which altogether contribute to its inability to contribute to the processing industry’s needs. Notwithstanding, any attempt to address the challenges of the sector should focus not only on economic and political aspects such as self-sufficiency, sovereignty, and trade dependency but also climate conditions, the use of natural resources and their subsequent environmental impacts should be considered.