With the 20% excise duty on locally manufactured fruit juices now abolished, the government’s Feed the Industries Programme offers Ekumfi Fruits & Juices Limited a pathway to US$48 million in annual turnover, more than 9,000 acres of fruit cultivation, and up to GH₵52,000 in gross revenue per acre for youth and farmers growing pineapple. The transformation could also open a route to accelerated EXIM debt repayment.
Ekumfi has turned a US$6 million credit from Ghana EXIM Bank into a modern fruit‑processing facility worth an estimated US$53 million, including Ghanaian juice brands and a foundation for international market expansion. Yet the company has struggled to run at full capacity because of limited pineapple supplies and the excise duty that was in place until 1 October 2026.
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson announced the duty’s removal in the 2026 Mid‑Year Budget Review on 23 July, and the exemption took effect on 1 October. The change improves price competitiveness and operating margins, but raw material remains the bottleneck.
The Feed the Industries Programme, part of the 24‑Hour Economy agenda, aims to link farms to factories. For Ekumfi, that means a coordinated supply system drawing on commercial estates, smallholder farmers, youth enterprises, out‑grower cooperatives and agricultural service providers. Management estimates that sustaining 24‑hour operations would require more than 9,000 acres of pineapple and other fruits.
Ekumfi has already secured 9,500 acres for juice, tea and tepache feedstock—more than the full 24‑hour requirement. The remaining challenge is planting finance, inputs and grower mobilization. By establishing structured partnerships with thousands of farmers and young entrepreneurs, Ekumfi can secure a dependable supply while creating rural wealth.
Under the proposed model, one acre of pineapple could generate an estimated GH₵52,000 in gross revenue per harvest cycle. If the full 9,000-acre requirement were planted with pineapple, gross farm‑gate value could reach GH₵468 million per cycle. The programme could be structured around one‑acre, five‑acre and ten‑acre production units, backed by land access, improved planting material, technical assistance, mechanisation and structured off‑take agreements.
Beyond the farm gate, the value chain—nurseries, land preparation, cultivation, harvesting, haulage, aggregation, processing, packaging and distribution—could support around 18,000 jobs in the Central Region alone.
As Ghana moves toward industrialisation, Ekumfi’s model could become a template for turning development‑finance investment into agricultural prosperity, youth employment, industrial expansion and export growth.
