RUPAG calls for crackdown on illegal raw rubber exports

By Juliet Aguiar DUGBARTEY, Takoradi

The Rubber Processors Association of Ghana (RUPAG) has called on security agencies to take urgent action against the illegal export of raw rubber (cuplumps), which it says is hurting local industry and threatening thousands of jobs.

According to RUPAG, the smuggling of raw rubber violates the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2471), which ban the unprocessed export of cuplumps. The association warns that this ongoing practice is undermining Ghana’s efforts to boost value addition and industrial growth under the government’s 24-hour economy agenda.

“Our factories can process all locally produced rubber, but illegal exports are depriving us of raw materials,” said RUPAG Chairperson Emmanuel Akwasi Owusu, who also heads the Association of Natural Rubber Actors Ghana (ANRAG). “This threatens investments, jobs, and the survival of our processing companies.”

RUPAG argues that exporting unprocessed rubber drains foreign exchange, weakens local supply chains, and stifles industrial growth. Instead of job losses, it says enforcing local processing before export would create more employment across processing, packaging, logistics, quality control, and export services. It would also boost downstream industries like rubber-based manufacturing.

The association estimates that over 1,300 direct jobs and more than 70,000 indirect livelihoods are at risk. The illegal trade is also disrupting the Rubber Outgrower Plantation Project (ROPP), which supports over 11,800 farmers. RUPAG warns this could collapse repayment plans for over GH?450 million in credit provided to the sector—jeopardising its long-term sustainability.

Although TCDA introduced a permit system in April 2025 to regulate rubber exports, RUPAG says smugglers continue to bypass it, threatening the sector’s future.

The association is urging the Ghana Police Service, National Security, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, the National Investigations Bureau (NIB), and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to: Strengthen surveillance at all export points, intercept illegal shipments and prosecute offenders in line with the law.

RUPAG is also calling for stronger public-private partnerships to protect investments, support local processing, and position the rubber industry as a key pillar of Ghana’s industrial transformation.

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