Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson has called on the Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA) to immediately address a critical shortage of raw rubber, a situation blamed on unchecked exports of the commodity.
The shortage has forced Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL) to announce plans to cut 120 jobs by November 2025, citing financial losses from the lack of local supply.
The Managing Director of the Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL), Thierry Cauchy, revealing the stark consequences of the raw rubber shortage said While GREL has the capacity to employ 1,230 workers and process 120,000 tonnes of rubber annually at its two factories, it currently sustains only 570 jobs leaving 660 Ghanaians without potential employment.
This underperformance threatens a major national asset, following a GH¢840 million investment since 2018 with the Government of Ghana holding a 26.75% stake. Cauchy blamed the crisis on a surge in raw rubber exports since July, which flouts regulations and strangles local processors.
”The regulation on the export of raw rubber is not being respected. Local processors like GREL expected the rules to be enforced, but the opposite has happened. Our processing capacity has drastically reduced, employment has been affected, and the value chain is being disrupted,” he said.
During a tour of their plants at Apemenim and Abura on Friday, Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson, addressing the critical shortage of raw materials, described the situation, where local processors like GREL are struggling to secure supplies, as “unacceptable.”
He stated that this threatens government’s vision of a 24-hour economy driven by agribusiness and called on the Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA) to take a more active role, as, “Price setting alone is not enough.
“Price setting alone is not enough. Market forces can distort the system if not actively managed. Both farmers and processors must be protected,” he said.
“Processing plants need raw materials to add value, and that value must reach the market. Otherwise, all efforts and policies, including the 24-hour economy, risk being defeated.”
To achieve this, the Minister called for strict supply regulations, stating that raw rubber exports should only be authorized once local processing needs are fully met.
This mechanism is vital, he stressed, to shield domestic industries from the harm caused by unregulated exports.
“It only makes sense to export the excess when all local companies have enough. Once local demand is satisfied, then the excess can be exported,” he explained.
