Steps are being taken to gradually reintroduce EU-bound fresh produce exports from Ghana, following months of instability and fears over the contamination of fruit and vegetables.

Since July, Ghanaian farmers have been stopped from exporting commodities to the EU in a preventative measure to ward off an outright ban.

EU officials had warned Ghana’s Ministry of Food & Agriculture, the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (VEPEAG) and the Ghana Export Promotions Authority (GEPA) that continued breaches of phytosanitary regulations could lead to severe restrictions or even a complete ban.

Some consignments of produce including eggplant, chili peppers, calabash and cucumber-like luffa (also known as Chinese okra) were found to be infected with worms. Earlier this year, mango consignments were also discovered to contain fruit fly.

Mindful that a ban would seriously damage Ghana's agri-food sector, the industry as a whole decided to put its own stringent monitoring system in place in the early summer to restrict fresh produce exports to Europe.

This included a voluntary suspension from exports that began on July 17 and continues to be in place.

Since then, headway has been made to improve safety regulations in the West African country with large-scale training programs going on all over Ghana, according to GEPA director of research Maxwell Osei-Kusi.

"The farmers have been trained and educated about plant protection and this has been going very well. We will continue to educate the growers so that gradually the business of exporting our fruit and vegetables can begin again," he told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"But this will take time and we do not want to rush. We have to be very careful and make sure that all exports of fresh produce for the European markets are 100%.

"We do not want any more problems. That is why this issue has been taken so seriously by the authorities in Ghana who have been doing everything possible to make improvements."

Education is the key

Osei-Kusi stresses the importance of the educational programs and urges producers to fully take on board good practice measures.

"We all want to start exporting again and we will in good time but we need to make sure everything possible is done so Ghana is not in a situation where consignments are not up to safety regulations.

"If farmers listen to the trainings and the important advice then there should not be any problems with exporting to the EU.

"At this stage I am not sure when exports will resume but I know it will happen and I am confident in the all of the hard work that has been going on.

New fields full of produce are soon to be cultivated, although heavy monitoring procedures will take place before any consignments are dispatched for export.

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www.freshfruitportal.com