Local industries urged to register with Ghana export authority; Outfit poised to push for more exports

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Dr Afua Asabea Asare, has urged local industries to register with the authority to enable them to develop their products to meet the standards of the international market.

According to her, local industries that registered with the authority were provided with the needed support such as training, certification, quality packaging, among others to export their products and compete favourably on the international market.

"You may be a local champion but you would need all these support to enable you to get your products onto the international market and also be competitive," she emphasised.

Visit/registration

Dr Asare was interacting with journalists in Tamale after visiting and interacting with some local industry players, including producers and exporters as part of her working visit to the Northern Region last Thursday.

The visit of the CEO of GEPA was to acquaint herself with the operations of the various local industries, identify their challenges and how best they could be
supported to meet the demands for the international market.

Dr Asare, who was on the tour with a deputy CEO of the authority, Mr Samuel Dentu, visited the Maltiti A. Enterprise at Kumbunyili, AMAATI Company Limited at Pagzaa and B-Diet at Jisonayili, all agro-processing companies near Tamale.

Dr Afua Asabea Asare (2nd right) interacting with Hajia Rabiatu (left), CEO of Maltiti A. Enterprise, during a visit to her centre at Kumbuyili, near Tamale. Also in the picture is Mr Samuel Dentu (right) , Deputy CEO of GEPA

Support

The CEO of the GEPA reiterated the commitment of the authority to support local industries to get their products onto the international market and be successful with them, saying “when you register with us, we build your capacity to enable you to compete favourably on the international market”.

Dr Asare disclosed that the GEPA had identified some agro-products and done some extensive work on them to promote them on the international market.

She gave the assurance that the GEPA would also like to support some of the agro-processing companies with machines in the region to enhance their production and capacities to meet the demands of the international market.

"Mechanisation means we need to use mechanised methods to actually do the work instead of using the old primitive methods", she stated.

Appeal

The Co-founder and CEO of AMAATI Company Limited, Ms Salma Abdulai, said they were into the processing of Fonio into cereal and flour for the local market and for export respectively.

She said Fonio, a crop plant that went extinct about 10 decades ago, was now back and being cultivated in the East North area of the region in Bimbilla, Tatale,
Saboba, Zabuzugu as well as Chereponi in the North East region where the company was supporting farmers and women groups to cultivate the plant.

Ms Salma appealed for tractors to support the farmer groups they were working with to enhance their production.

For her part, CEO of Maltiti A. Enterprise, Hajia Abukari Rabiatu, said her company was into the processing of shea products and had buyers in the United States of  America (USA), Australia, among others.

She said her company needed roster and kneading machines to enhance her production capacity to meet the demands of the market.

Hajia Rabiatu, therefore, appealed for support for the local industries in the region in the area of machinery to enhance their production.