EU lifts ban on Ghana's vegetables

The European Union (EU) has lifted its ban on five of Ghana's vegetables exported to the Market.

The EU on 13th October, 2015, imposed the ban on the five vegetables for failing to meet phytosanitary standards.

In a statement to the media on Tuesday, the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission disclosed that effective “1st January 2018, Ghanaian farmers will be able to resume exports of all plant commodities to the European Union (EU) market”.

The statement noted that once they meet EU phytosanitary legislation's specifications, exports of the vegetables will have duty-free as well as quota-free access to the EU market (like other product from Ghana).

The five vegetables include - chilli pepper, bottle gourds, luffa gourds, bitter gourds and eggplants.

Lauding the effort of the Ghanaian government in securing the ban lift, the EU noted that since the beginning of the ban in October 2015, Ghanaian authorities have embarked on significant corrective measures to improve the inspection and control system for plant health at exit points, in particular at the Kotoka International Airport.

"The European Commission congratulates Ghana for reaching this important milestone and encourages Ghana to consolidate the upgraded system and to continue further improvements in the phytosanitary certification system to obtain full compliance with the EU phytosanitary requirements”, it added.