$70 Million Vanishes in Export Scam
By Leo Nelson
A widening export fraud scandal has drained an estimated $70 million from Ghana’s rubber sector over two years, exposing deep failures in regulatory oversight and raising uncomfortable questions about political complicity.
The scheme, built on under-invoicing and permit evasion, has left local processing factories idle and thousands of jobs hanging in the balance.
Customs data obtained by The New Republic reveals that 89.68 million tonnes of raw rubber were exported in 2024 without a single permit issued by the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) the statutory body mandated to regulate the sector. In 2025, the TCDA approved only 13,000 tonnes for export, yet exporters shipped 39,000 tonnes, exceeding the limit by 200 per cent.
The financial mechanics of the fraud are stark. The official minimum price for raw rubber stands at over GH¢8.60 per kilogramme. Exporters, however, declared values as low as GH¢0.99 and, in some cases, GH¢0.72 per kilogramme. The effect was to hide true profits offshore while repatriating only a fraction of the proceeds.
In 2024, $55.83 million worth of rubber was exported, but just $6.17 million was returned. In 2025, $26.03 million left the country; only $4.48 million came back. The cumulative shortfall over $70 million represents capital flight disguised as legitimate trade.
Customs data points to a near-monopoly: one company controlled 91 per cent of exports in 2024; another dominated 98 per cent in 2025. Such concentration has triggered suspicions of regulatory capture, with industry insiders questioning how a handful of actors could operate with impunity for two consecutive years.
While raw rubber flows out at artificially low prices, domestic processors are starving. Ghana’s processing factories have a combined capacity exceeding 170,000 tonnes annually but are operating at less than 40 per cent. One major processor, Apex, has been completely idle since 2024. Layoffs are mounting, and industry sources warn that without immediate intervention, the entire value chain could collapse.
Farmers are also feeling the squeeze. A rubber farmer from the Western Region told The New Republic he sells at around GH¢8.30 per kilogramme far above the prices exporters claim. The gap points to a parallel reality where export declarations bear little relation to actual transactions.
The Tree Crops Development Authority has admitted in internal communications that it lacks the legal authority to halt shipments, even when clear irregularities are detected. The Association of Natural Rubber Actors of Ghana (ANRAG) had raised alarms months earlier about suspicious activities at Tema Port, but no action was taken.
The government is now scrambling to contain the fallout. Trade and Industry Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare has announced restrictions on raw rubber exports, and Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson signalled the move in the 2026 budget. Critics, however, describe the response as belated, noting that the structures allowing the fraud remain intact.
With local factories on life support and farmers caught in a system that undervalues their product, pressure is building for a full-scale investigation. The key questions now are whether political cover shielded the exporters, and whether the government will move beyond rhetoric to enforce accountability. For an administration that campaigned on economic transparency, THE Rubber SCANDAL represents an early test of its willingness to take on entrenched interests.