The Chief Executive Officer of the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), Dr. Andy Osei Okrah, has led a high-level engagement with key institutional and regulatory stakeholders to intensify collaboration in tackling the illicit importation of refined oil palm into country.
The meeting, held under the auspices of TCDA and the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG) is to enhance coordination among key state agencies to ensure regulatory compliance, promote fair market practices, and safeguard the competitiveness of the domestic oil palm industry.
Focusing on the Oil Palm Value Chain, the engagement served as a strategic platform to drum home the message to actors involved in the importation of Crude Palm Oil, Crude Palm Olein and Palm Olein (Refined Vegetable Oil) on the need to comply with TCDA regulations governing the sector.
Participants also used the session to assess the scale and economic impact of illegal vegetable oil imports, clarify institutional mandates and outline stronger collaborative enforcement mechanisms to address the challenge.
Institutions represented at the meeting included the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Interior, National Security, Ghana Revenue Authority (Customs Division), Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Standards Authority, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Judicial Service of Ghana, Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Ghana Shippers Authority and the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG).
Dr. Okrah emphasized that the TCDA remains committed to building a resilient oil palm industry by fostering stakeholder collaboration, ensuring compliance with regulations and licensing and protecting local producers from unfair trade practices to streamline the sector.
