Ignore Ghana’s importation of US$400m worth of tomatoes from Burkina Faso; its a lie!

We have come across a false publication by Business and Financial Times (B&FT) and other online media outlets captioned “Ghana’s Import of Tomatoes from Burkina Reaches US$400M Annually”, in an attempt to create an impression that, Ghana annually imports US$400m worth of tomatoes from Burkina Faso while it has the requisite policy, land and human resources to produce enough tomatoes for herself and export. It is important to note that, the said story is inaccurate, lacks merit and must be disregarded by all. In fact, guided by the appropriate facts and figures, science and data, we wish to state categorically with no equivocation that, Ghana in no way imports tomatoes from Burkina Faso with such an exaggerated amount. According to the 2020 and 2021 intelligence reports by internationally recognized organizations such as the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), and Tridge, among others, Burkina Faso is not even part of the top twenty (20) exporters of tomatoes in the World. It is worth noting that, Canada, the fifth (5th) largest global exporter of tomatoes earns a total export value of $448m annually and Belgium, the tenth (10th) largest global exporter of tomatoes earns a total export value of US$302m. The puzzle here is, if Ghana alone imports $400m worth of tomatoes from Burkina Faso, a value very close to the annual global tomatoes export value of Canada; US$448m and greater than that of Belgium; US$302m, then why is Burkina not part of the top ten (10) largest tomatoes’ exporters in the World. Logically, Ghana’s import alone should have placed Burkina Faso in an encouraging position among countries like Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Morocco, Canada, among others, but on the contrary, Burkina Faso does not even fall within the top 20 exporters of tomatoes in the World. In furtherance, according to FAOSTAT, Nigeria is the largest producer of tomatoes in West Africa, followed by Ghana, and Niger follows at the third position, with Burkina Faso not even falling within the top five (5) producers of tomatoes in West Africa. In fact, according to the data statistics by the FAOSTAT, Ghana produces three hundred and sixty-eight thousand, nine hundred and twenty (368,920) tonnes of tomatoes while Burkina Faso produces twenty-one thousand, three hundred and sixty-nine (21,369) tonnes of tomatoes annually, meaning, Ghana produces about seventeen (17) times more tomatoes than Burkina Faso. So, how is it possible for Ghana to import US$400m worth of tomatoes from a country it surpasses in tomato production? In conclusion, with the analysis of the available facts sourced from the aforementioned credible international organizations, Ghana does not import tomatoes worth US$400m from Burkina Faso, it is a falsehood, concocted and a palpable lie. The story must therefore be condemned and totally disregarded in its entirety. Hhhmm, May God be praised always.