Ghanaian agri-food exporters are to start preparing for major changes in their products packaging materials designed for the European Union (EU) market.
This follows the introduction of a new requirement by the EU Commission on packaging waste regulations (PPWR) and updated rules on bisphenol A (BPA).
The requirement, which takes effect from July 2026, is in response to growing environmental concerns and mounting scientific evidence of BPA-related safety risks.
These regulations will progressively impose stricter requirements on all agri-food exports meant for the EU market to ensure chemical safety of food-contact packaging materials, as well as their recyclability, reusability, traceability and compostability.
The study
However, a new study has found very low awareness and compliance of the new PPWR and BPA requirements among Ghanaian exporters and state actors.
The participants in the workshop
The study established that the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA), though familiar with aspects of the PPWR, is yet to develop regulatory frameworks or laboratory capacity for BPA testing and compliance.
The Farrelly Mitchell Business Consultants Limited was commissioned by COLEAD (formerly COLEACP) to assess the impact of the new EU regulations using Ghana as a case study.
National roadmap
Speaking at a workshop on the new regulation in Accra yesterday, a Senior Consultant at Farrelly Mitchell Business Consultants Limited, Dr Hanson Arthur, called for the development of a national roadmap to align Ghana's packaging regulations with EU standards.
He said the country must scale up testing and recyclability assessment capacities to mitigate trade disruption and support exporters’ transition.
Dr Arthur explained that one of the key recommendations was to accelerate the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes and roll out waste collection infrastructure pilots to improve recycling and sustainable waste management across the packaging value chain.
He said the initiative would also mobilise technical and financial assistance from development partners to support small and medium enterprises in meeting the new packaging compliance standards.
Dr Arthur said efforts would be made to develop sector-wide traceability systems, drawing valuable lessons from the well-established traceability framework used in Ghana’s cocoa industry.
He called for increased investment in packaging innovation, encouraging manufacturers to benchmark their practices against global best standards to enhance competitiveness and sustainability.
Stricter requirements
The West African Regional Director of Farrelly Mitchell Business Consultants Limited, Stephen Awuah, explained that the EU’s recent adoption of regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste and Regulation 2024/3190 on the use of bisphenol A in food contact materials would significantly influence global trade standards.
“In view of these policy changes, COLEAD engaged Farrelly Mitchell to carry out an impact assessment to determine how the new EU framework could affect Ghana’s agri-food export industry,” he said.
Mr Awuah said the workshop was designed to validate the findings of the impact study to ensure they accurately reflected the practical realities and challenges faced by actors within Ghana’s agri-food export sector.
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