Import rules · updated 10 October 2026
Importing Brazilian sugar into Ghana: duty, permits and documents.
Ghana took 230,900 tonnes of Brazil’s white sugar in 2025. Imports are open to private importers with the right permits: an FDA importer licence, product registration and an e-permit for each consignment, plus registration with the Ghana Standards Authority and a certificate of analysis or conformity per shipment. The customs duty on white sugar is 20% (ECOWAS common tariff band, latest line data 2023), plus the 0.5% ECOWAS levy and about 3% in other import levies. Sugar is not VAT-exempt, so the 15% VAT and its two 2.5% levies apply. There is no sugar quota: a 2023 plan to license sugar imports was suspended.
Brazil’s sugar trade with Ghana
Brazil exported 230,900 tonnes of white sugar (NCM 1701.99) to Ghana in 2025, worth 103.3 million US dollars FOB, plus 10,135 tonnes of raw sugar. Tema has handling equipment for edible bulk such as sugar and rice.
Importing into Ghana? Send your grade, quantity and discharge port. You pay the supplier directly, never me.
Send a requirement →Permits: FDA and the Ghana Standards Authority
- FDA. Only businesses licensed by the Food and Drugs Authority as importers may import food (Public Health Act 851, s.122). Prepackaged foods must be registered first, and each consignment needs an e-permit (FDA import guideline in effect from 2 July 2025). Ask the FDA whether your pack counts as prepackaged.
- GSA. Food is a high-risk good. Importers register with the Ghana Standards Authority, and each consignment needs a certificate of analysis or conformity against the applicable standard. Labels in another language must be translated into English.
- Standard. Ghana has adopted the Codex standard for sugars as a Ghana Standard.
Duty and taxes
| Charge | Rate | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | 20% | ECOWAS common tariff band; WITS line data, 2023 |
| ECOWAS community levy | 0.5% of CIF, non-ECOWAS imports | ECOWAS Protocol A/P1/7/96 |
| African Union levy | 0.2%, imports from outside the AU | Act 952, 2017 |
| EXIM levy | 0.75% of CIF | Ghana EXIM Bank Act 2016 (Act 911), s.29 |
| Special Import Levy | 2% of CIF, extended to end-2028 | Acts 944 (2017) and 1125 (2025) |
| VAT + NHIL + GETFund | 15% + 2.5% + 2.5% on one base, from 1 Jan 2026 (the 1% COVID levy was abolished) | VAT Act 2025 (Act 1151); GRA guideline, 31 Dec 2025 |
Sugar is not on the VAT Act 2025’s list of exempt supplies, so the 15% VAT applies. The rates of the customs examination and processing charges are not published; ask the Ghana Revenue Authority before you calculate a landed cost.
What to confirm before you order
- Your FDA licence and e-permit, and GSA registration, in place before the ship sails.
- The customs examination and processing charges, with GRA.
- Your discharge port: Tema or Takoradi.
Rules on this page were checked against the sources below on 10 October 2026. Duties, levies and permits change, sometimes by decree. Confirm every figure with Ghana’s customs authority before you order. See all countries.
Know your permits and your port? That is everything I need to request a current supplier response.
Send a requirement →Sources
- ComexStat (MDIC), Brazilian exports by NCM 1701.99.00 and 1701.14.00, January–December 2025, via api-comexstat.mdic.gov.br, retrieved 29 Sep 2026
- Ghana Revenue Authority, customs tariffs and levies: https://gra.gov.gh/customs/customs-tariffs-and-levies/; World Bank WITS / UNCTAD TRAINS, MFN tariff for HS 170199, Ghana, 2023
- Ministry of Finance, Annual Report on the AU Levy (Act 952), 2021; Ghana EXIM Bank Act 2016 (Act 911): https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/gha218713.pdf; Special Import Levy Acts 944 (2017) and 1125 (2025)
- ECOWAS Protocol A/P1/7/96 on the community levy: https://africanlii.org/en/akn/aa-ecowas/act/protocol/1996/7-1/eng@1996-07-27
- Value Added Tax Act 2025 (Act 1151), s.3 and First Schedule: https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/VALUE-ADDED-TAX-ACT-2025-ACT-1151.pdf; USDA FAS GAIN GH2026-0002, 19 Feb 2026; USDA FAIRS GH2026-0018, 16 Jun 2026
- Ghana FDA, guideline for the importation of prepackaged food, FDA/ICD/GDL-02/05, 2 Jul 2025: https://fdaghana.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/GUIDELINE-FOR-IMPORT-PREPACKAGED-FOOD.pdf
- Ghana Standards Authority, import inspection: https://gsa.gov.gh/import-inspection/; GSA catalogue 2019
- Suspension of the 2023 import-restriction regulations: Ghana News Agency, Dec 2023; The Conversation, Dec 2023
- WFP Logistics Cluster, Ghana port of Tema: https://lca.logcluster.org/ghana-212-port-tema
Checked on 10 October 2026. Rules and web pages change; check the source before you rely on a detail.