Why Does Ghana Import Toothpicks? The Truth Behind Haruna Iddrisu's Famous Question | Discuss Ghana

It is one of those questions that makes you stop and think about how the economy works. Tamale South MP Haruna Iddrisu once openly questioned why Ghana spends money importing something as basic as toothpicks when the country has plenty of trees and bamboo. Before breaking down why this happens, there is a quick political detail to clear up: Haruna Iddrisu was never the Minister for Education. He actually asked this famous question when he was serving as the Minister for Trade and Industry under the NDC administration. He was trying to challenge local scientists and businessmen to stop relying on imports and start making simple everyday items right here at home.

The real reason Ghana imports toothpicks

It sounds simple to make a toothpick, but running a factory that makes them comes down to a few big challenges:

Machines cost too much upfront: Making toothpicks requires highly specialized machines that cut, shave, and sharpen wood or bamboo at lightning speed. For a long time, local banks preferred giving short-term loans to traders who buy things from abroad rather than long-term loans to people trying to build factories from scratch.

The cost of electricity: Running a factory takes a massive amount of power. High electricity tariffs mean that making a toothpick in Ghana can actually end up costing more than importing a whole shipping container of cheap toothpicks from China, where factories are heavily supported by the government.

Things are slowly changing: Through recent industrial programs like One District, One Factory (1D1F), a few local factories have started processing Ghanaian bamboo into toothpicks. However, they are still working to scale up enough to supply every supermarket and local joint in the country.