President John Dramani Mahama has declared that Ghana will end the export of mineral ores in their raw form by 2030 as part of efforts to drive industrialisation and job creation.

Speaking in Addis Ababa on February 13, 2026, the President stressed the need to halt the shipment of unprocessed mineral resources and instead strengthen local processing capacity to enhance value addition.

“I say in 2030 there will be no mineral ore leaving Ghana. We are not going to ship manganese ore, bauxite, or iron ore out of Ghana raw. You must process all that locally. That is the only way we can provide opportunities for our people,” he stated.

President Mahama said empowering local processing firms is central to the government’s flagship industrial and employment agenda.

He noted that similar structural challenges persist in the cocoa sector, where reliance on foreign funding arrangements has limited the availability of beans for domestic processors. The President explained that the government has decided to shift toward domestic financing through bond issuance to fund cocoa purchases.

According to him, Ghana has the capacity to process up to 400,000 tonnes of cocoa beans locally, but collateralised export arrangements have restricted supply to domestic processors. The new approach, he said, will prioritise value addition, expand production, and create jobs within the country.