14 Ghanaian firms to participate in Izmir Fair in Turkey
Fourteen companies from the country are to participate in the 83rd edition of the Izmir Trade Fair in Turkey. The companies are drawn from the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and the cosmetics industries.
The participating companies include Local Enterprises and Skills Development Limited (LESDEP), Alagie &Fati's Company, Daysah Ventures, Pure Company, Sea-Freighted Pineapple Exporters Association of Ghana (SPEG), the umbrella body of pineapple exporters in the country.
The rest are Regality Ventures, Krypton Global, HPW Fresh and Dry, Medi-Moses Clinic and Herbal Centre, Alpha Samuelson Enterprise, Paku Enterprise, Yenok Limited, Chocho Industries and Veronica Ayando Enterprise.
These companies will be showcasing their products and services to the international business community at the six-day fair which opened yesterday August 29 and ends on September 3.
The number of companies participating in the fair this year is two more than last year’s 12 that participated in the fair held annually in the Turkish commercial city of Izmir.
It is aimed at offering businesses and investors across the globe the opportunity to market their products to the international business community, especially those from Asian and European countries.
Ghana's participation in the event is under the auspices of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the body mandated to develop and promote the country's non-traditional exports (NTEs).
A General Manager at the authority, Mr Stephen Normehie, told the Daily Graphic in Accra that the areas of operation of the participating companies were considered after a research revealed that buyers at the fair would be interested in products from the pharmaceutical, food and beverage and the cosmetics industries.
"We don't normally take a lot of companies there. But even before the selection, we often undertake some research to know what products will be needed at the fair," he said in an interview.
The authority has been organising local companies to participate in the fair which entered its 83rd edition this year.
Mr Normeshie said the benefits to the country and the participatory companies had been enormous.
A case in point, he said, was the pineapple exporters who had had special orders from that country. Similar orders were received by Alagie & Fati Company which specialises in the supply of shea products and their derivatives.
Given that more Turkish investors are exploring investment opportunities in the country, Mr Normeshie said, the authority was optimistic the fair would solidify economic relations between the two countries.