Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Examining the relationship existing between local and foreign rice market in Ghana: The case of the upper east region

3^rd Global Food Security, Food Safety & Sustainability Conference

May 21-22, 2018 | New York, USA

Kofi Kyei and Kenichi Matsui

University of Tsukuba, Japan

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

The upper east region of Ghana is one of the major producers of rice in Ghana, but has experienced a decline in the production of rice for the past six years. This declining trend poses a threat to food security in the country. One reason given by local rice farmers is the lack of stable market for Ghanaâ??s local rice. Farmersâ?? claimed that the presence of foreign rice in the market compete with the local rice market. This paper examines the relationship existing between the local and foreign market in the upper east region of Ghana. The study employed the price transmission analysis to assess the level of competitiveness existing between the local and foreign rice market in the region. The study used average monthly prices of local and foreign rice in the regionâ??s major market from 2012 to 2016. The results revealed a strong relationship existing between prices of local and foreign rice in the upper east region of Ghana. This implies that price of local rice competes with its foreign counterpart in the region. This paper makes some recommendations for improving the local rice production in the region. It proposes, for example, the intervention of short term policies in the rice sub sector in the region. kofikyeijnr@gmail.com