The product mix, in order of volume
Chicken leg quarters dominate. They are the reference item against which Ghanaian buyers price a container, and the one where a few cents per kilo decides whether an offer is competitive. Whole chicken follows, sold by weight grade for retail distribution, then 3-joint and mid-joint wings for hospitality and street food, then mechanically deboned meat (M.D.M) for local sausage and processed-meat manufacturers.
Around those four lines sit the offals and secondary parts that let an importer serve several customer types from one container: gizzards, livers, feet and paws, drumsticks, thighs and hen leg quarters.
- Chicken leg quarters — the market's benchmark item
- Whole chicken, grillers and eviscerated, by weight grade
- Wings: 3-joints, mid-joints, prime wings
- M.D.M blocks for processors
- Gizzards, livers, feet, paws, hen leg quarters
Tema first, Takoradi as the western option
Tema handles the bulk of Ghana's frozen poultry and serves Accra and the eastern corridor, with the deepest reefer plug capacity and the most frequent calls from Northern Europe, Brazil and the United States. Takoradi is the practical choice for buyers based in Sekondi and the western and interior regions, saving inland trucking that can otherwise erode the margin on a container.
Permits and documentation
Frozen poultry entering Ghana needs a veterinary health certificate accepted by Veterinary Services and documentation that satisfies the Food and Drugs Authority, alongside the import permit and the standard commercial set. Plant approval numbers must match the certificate and the carton markings — a mismatch is the most common cause of a container sitting at the port.
Halal certification for the full container can be arranged with the origin plant, but it has to be agreed before loading, not after. The same applies to pre-shipment inspection and temperature logging.
- Veterinary health certificate accepted by Ghanaian authorities
- FDA-compliant documentation and import permit support
- Halal certification on request, agreed pre-loading
- Temperature logs and plant approval numbers on every load
Container economics
A 40ft High Cube Reefer at -18 °C carries approximately 26 to 28 MT net depending on the cut and carton format — 10 kg and 15 kg bulk cartons are standard, with IQF and individually wrapped product available on request. Quotes are issued CIF Tema by default; CFR, FOB and CPT are available for buyers with their own freight arrangements.
The two variables worth negotiating hardest are the glaze percentage and the carton weight tolerance. Both change the real cost per sellable kilo far more than a headline price difference of a few dollars per tonne.