Export authority partners exporters to deal with supply challenges
The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Mr Gideon Boye Quarcoo, has urged exporters of non-traditional products to come out with more aggressive marketing strategies that will get their products into the West African and other African markets.
Advertisement
He said products from Ghana were in high demand across the continent, especially West Africa, and exporters should be bold to put their products in those markets and use the opportunity to perfect their acts before entering into advanced markets such as the European Union (EU).
Mr Quarcoo told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS on May 28 after the 75th National Exporters Forum in Accra that the authority would this year cut back on some trade missions and devote some time and efforts to working with exporters to meet certain standards for international marketing.
Indeed, Ghana’s products such as aluminium, textiles and garments, plastic products, medicinal plants and pharmaceutical products have always been sought after at solo-exhibitions that the GEPA organises for exporters in the sub-region.
“This year, we’ve cut back on the number of fairs to concentrate on working in-country with farmers and producers,” Mr Quarcoo indicated.
The authority is working with the Ghana Standards Authority, the Food and Drugs Authority and other international bodies, especially from The Netherlands, to support Ghana in market intelligence.
They are also supporting GEPA to work with companies to meet international standards such as the Good Agricultural Practices (GLOBALGAP) certification, a system that ensures good agronomic practices and uniformity in the quality of produce.
GLOBALGAP certification for smallholder farmers would also enable them to export through aggregators. And there are technical experts working with extension officers and farmers across the country to obtain certification.
Officials of the authority have already been to the Kwaebibirem District, a palm oil producing area where a major farmer association has been inaugurated after years of resistance.
Finance
The GEPA is implementing a national export strategy, launched last year, to ensure that Ghana’s export earnings from non-traditional exports reach US$5 billion by 2017.
There are about 500 non-traditional export (NTE) products which have been identified and grouped into various categories, including processed and semi-processed items, agricultural products, handicraft and services.
Last year, NTEs increased by 3.05 per cent to US$2.44 billion, up from the previous year’s US$2.36 billion. This amount represents 17.2 per cent of the country’s total exports of US$14.15 billion for last year.
Outlook
The work plan for this year will include sensitising all the stakeholders in the export trade value chain to the strategy for players to have a deeper understanding of the strategy and what it calls for.
“For instance, every district is supposed to come out with one commercially viable export trade project, and there are districts which can immediately do that for their proximity to borders and various institutions, and the GEPA has a stake,” he explained.
The GEPA itself is going through some internal transformation which will include the creation of a monitoring and evaluation unit to track its activities and monitor progress to help it achieve its goals.
Marketing services
The authority has already carried out a nationwide sensitisation exercise to create awareness of services that could be exported and it is now compiling a directory of companies in the service export value chain.
The register would be a useful resource for promoting the export of services such as medical services from Ghana.