The European Union (EU) has placed a temporary ban on Ghanaian vegetable imports after consignments were identified as not meeting quality standards, website Ghanaweb.com reported.

In June alone, the European Union Notification System For Plant Health Interceptions (EUROPHYT) picked up 35 harmful organisms in Ghanaian plant products, including calabash, eggplant, chili peppers and the cucumber-like luffa, also known as Chinese okra.

The story highlighted the West African country's mangoes were banned in the EU six months ago due to fruit fly problems.

A temporary ban was also placed on citrus in May due to an outbreak of angular leaf spot.

Ghanaian Agricultural Minister Fiifi Kwetey said the government was putting measures in place to address the issues, the story reported.

"As a country, we will from time to time have some of these concerns. I don’t think it is the first time we have had those concerns," Kwetey was quoted as saying.

"We are clearly going to take them on board in order to ensure that if we are going to have sustainable exports, we cannot afford to compromise on quality.

"Some of the quality we are talking about is not something at the Ministerial level. It has to do with production; that is taking place down in the farms. We will give support to them in terms of equipment to ensure that those minimum standards are kept."

In April this year, Dutch Ambassador to Ghana Hans Docter told Business & Financial Times the country's vegetable exports were growing at an annual rate of 10%, with current volumes of around 15,000 metric tons (MT).

"Ghana’s vegetable sector offers great opportunities for growth, given the steady increase of high-value domestic markets and export opportunities," Docter was quoted as saying.

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