Eric Opoku announces egg exports to Burkina Faso amid domestic surplus

The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has announced that Ghana has officially commenced the export of eggs to Burkina Faso to address a significant domestic surplus. This initiative follows a direct intervention by President John Mahama, who instructed the ministry to negotiate market access after local production levels exceeded internal demand. The move aims to stabilize the poultry sector and provide Ghanaian farmers with expanded regional markets for their produce.

The current surplus is largely attributed to the Nkoko Nketenkete programme, which Minister Opoku credits with a historic surge in domestic poultry production. According to ministry data, local production capacity rose from 4.6% to 22% as of May 2026. This rapid growth has led to a year-long abundance of eggs across the country, making them highly accessible to the public, with retail prices often reaching two eggs for five cedis on the streets.

During a recent inspection of a poultry facility alongside President Mahama, Mr. Opoku revealed that a delegation sent to the border found more than 20 trucks loaded with eggs ready for transport. These vehicles were subsequently cleared for entry into Burkina Faso. However, the Minister cautioned that while these initial exports are a positive step, they are currently insufficient to completely exhaust the national surplus, necessitating further domestic interventions.

To further manage the excess supply, the government is collaborating with the Ministry of Education to incorporate eggs into meals served through the National School Feeding Programme. Additionally, a new poultry processing facility is under construction in Bechem, which will have the capacity to process 6,000 birds per hour. Expected to be operational by early 2027, the facility and an accompanying feed mill are designed to strengthen the value chain by utilizing by-products like eggshells for feed production.