Trades Minister calls for end to Ghana-Nigeria Onion Trade dispute

The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has called for an immediate end to the recent dispute between Ghanaian and Nigerian onion traders, stressing the need to strengthen trade relations and economic cooperation within the ECOWAS sub-region.

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare made the call at a meeting on Wednesday, involving representatives of Ghana and Nigeria to address the dispute, which had disrupted the supply of onions between the two countries in Accra.

She appealed to all stakeholders to put their differences aside and work together to create a stable and mutually beneficial trading environment.

She said a prolonged disruption in the onion trade could negatively affect farmers, traders, transport operators and consumers in both Ghana and Nigeria.

Her intervention has been welcomed by the Accra Onion Sellers and Importers Cooperative Society and the Cross Border Women Traders Association, which commended her and her officials for their prompt engagement with stakeholders.

The commendation followed the lifting of the suspension on onion exports to Ghana by the National Onion Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria, restoring the flow of onion supplies between the two countries.

The Accra Onion Sellers and Importers Cooperative Society, which comprises five major onion sellers’ associations, including the Accra and Adjei Kotoku groups and the Dominanse Association in the Central Region, said the intervention had helped address concerns affecting traders on both sides.

The Public Relations Officer of the Society, Mr Osman Mohammed Sied, said all four Ghanaian trucks transporting onions from Nigeria to Ghana had been released as of Thursday, August 13.

He said all Nigerian trucks carrying onions that had arrived in Ghana had also completed offloading their produce at various markets across the country.

The traders expressed confidence that the intervention would help provide a lasting solution to the dispute and strengthen cooperation between Ghanaian and Nigerian traders.

They said improved collaboration would also support agricultural trade and economic activity within the ECOWAS region.

The development has restored the movement of onion supplies between the two neighbouring countries after the suspension disrupted cross-border trade.