-Plastic Manufacturers Demand GHS1.49bn Bailout,
-Warns of 3.7 million jobs at risk and calls for 18-month transition
By Gifty Boateng
Ghana’s plastic manufacturers have broken their silence on the government’s proposed ban on polystyrene foam products, demanding a GHS1.493 billion compensation package and an 18-month extension to the January 2027 enforcement deadline.
The Ghana Plastic Manufacturers’ Association (GPMA) insists it supports the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) environmental objectives in principle but argues the transition timeline is unrealistic and threatens to destabilise one of the country’s key industrial sectors.
The ban, announced in May by EPA CEO Prof Nana Ama Brown Klutse, targets all expanded polystyrene (EPS) products including food containers, disposable cups and plates, foam packaging, ceiling insulation materials, foam mattresses, and bedding products. The prohibition forms part of broader national measures to improve environmental sanitation and reduce plastic waste.
President John Mahama first signalled the policy direction during the 2025 National Tree Planting exercise, giving manufacturers a year’s notice before the EPA formalised the January 2027 commencement date.
The GPMA’s June 12 statement, signed by President Ebbo Botwe, paints a stark picture of potential economic devastation. The industry currently operates 171 production factories across the country, directly employing 41,395 people. Beyond direct employment, the sector supports 1.89 million jobs in the plastic waste recycling value chain and an additional 1.43 million in the sachet water, bottled water, and beverage industries.
In total, the GPMA claims the sector sustains approximately 3.71 million livelihoods, making it the fifth-largest commodity export sector after gold, crude oil, cocoa, and cashew.
The association also warned of regional repercussions, noting that 57% of exports go to ECOWAS nations including Togo, Sierra Leone, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Benin, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Senegal – countries that have not implemented similar bans.
The manufacturers’ most urgent concern centres on the GHS1.493 billion invested in plants and machinery, much of it financed through bank loans.
“Since EPA’s press release, the banks have taken serious concern as to what will happen to our machinery and how to recover their loans if the machines become scrap,” the statement read.
The association stressed that GPPS/PS machinery cannot be retooled for alternatives, including bioplastics, as the equipment is designed solely for Styrofoam products.
Return on investment typically takes up to ten years, with one company having acquired new machinery just two years ago – meaning its investment would not be recovered until 2030.
The GPMA also cautioned that enforcing the ban could trigger capital flight, with companies potentially relocating operations and foreign exchange to more favourable jurisdictions, with consequent inflationary pressures.
The manufacturers identified a practical obstacle to rapid implementation: raw material procurement operates on a ‘4-lot’ system requiring 12 calendar months to complete a full cycle, making a January 2027 deadline commercially unworkable.
“The most appropriate time to transition from GPPS/PS to other alternatives will be in 18 months,” the statement said, arguing that “rapidly implementing the ban will not be in the interest of government neither in the interest of the investor community.”
The association also warned that any attempt to use HS codes to block polystyrene material imports would cause “severe financial loss and operational disruptions” to companies using the raw material for other manufacturing purposes, including BIC pens.
The ban represents a significant test for the Mahama administration’s environmental credentials against its industrial policy objectives. With unemployment already a sensitive political issue, the prospect of mass job losses in an election-sensitive sector presents a formidable challenge.
The GPMA has offered conditional support: “We will be willing to support the ban provided this action is taken at a zero cost to our capital machinery cost of GHS1.493 billion.”
Whether the government can countenance such a substantial compensation package, or whether it will be forced to negotiate a compromise transition timeline, remains to be seen. What is clear is that the plastic manufacturers have drawn a line in the sand, and the EPA’s January 2027 deadline now looks increasingly precarious.