Ghana Export Promotion Authority Holds 23rd National Awards For Export … – Ghana

The 23rd National Awards for Export Achievement―an initiative to acknowledge and encourage outstanding achievement in the export sector― has taken place in Accra.

Specifically, the Awards aim to formally recognise the contribution of exporters in the Non-Traditional Export (NTE) sector to the economic prosperity of Ghana; to commend exporters for exporting quality products and for breaking new grounds; to encourage higher levels of performance by exporters; to sustain the interest of exporters in the export trade; and to raise and sustain export consciousness among Ghanaians in general.

This year’s event, organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) took place on the theme: ‘Providing sustainable Motivation for Export Excellence.’

In an address delivered on his behalf, Mr John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, noted that the bedrock of every country’s success was premised on the strength of its export sector and the extent to which it was diversified.

Government, President Mahama said, would, therefore, provide the needed resources to ensure that the NTE sector returned high and sustainable receipts to boost national development.

The President commended Ghanaian exporters for preserving and making a mark with their exports― in spite of the daunting challenges in the external market, particularly for products coming from developing countries―and for willingly repatriating the earnings from their businesses back to Ghana.

The President also commended GEPA for organising the event annually to sustain the interest of the nation in the NTE sector.

He noted that the institution of the Awards scheme was part of the overall plan of government to boost exports from the NTE sector, cushion earnings from primary and unprocessed traditional export products and bridge the country’s trade balance deficit― aware of the immense role foreign exchange plays in the country’s economic development and the fact that many of the NTE actors are our SMEs from the private sector.

The President said these two compelling reasons provided justification for the branding and promotion of the National Awards for Export Achievement into an “Exporters’ Day,” adding  that he was optimistic that such recognition would further motivate Ghanaian exporters to set and attain greater heights of achievement.

In an address read on his behalf, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Minister for Trade and Industry, called for sustained focus and doubling of efforts by government and actors in the NTE sector to curb the challenge of Ghana’s perennial trade deficits.

Hon. Iddrisu said the NTE sector held a great potential for job creation and economic transformation and that recent figures pointed to the need to develop a broader export base― a base built on the country’s traditional strengths in minerals, agriculture and, recently, oil exports, adding, however, that extending well beyond the commodities markets into manufactured products and value-added services should be the way forward for the country.

Hon Iddrisu said as much as practicable,  government  was taking pragmatic steps to boost the export sector through supply base expansion programmes based on the comparative advantage of each region of the country.
 
This agenda, he said, was in tandem with the recently-launched National Export Strategy which is based on a district level approach to export product development and expansion.
 
For instance, he said, the Central Region was noted for pineapple production and the northern region as the mainstay of shea in Ghana, with  mangoes as an addition and with  climatic conditions akin to that of Petrolina in Brazil, a major hub for mango production.

Hon. Iddrisu said the Ministry of Trade and Industry had, in recent times, advocated for increased efforts in the ECOWAS market so as to take advantage of the increasing demands of Made-in-Ghana goods and services in these markets.

He disclosed that Ghana’s offer had proven to be the best in the sub-region with considerable goodwill and entreated the GEPA to increase its promotional activities in ECOWAS countries and the rest of Africa, as well as other market destinations, especially the EU.

He said the direction of government’s economic policy was clear― creating an environment in which businesses, big and small, will prosper, but only if they showed bold enterprise and initiative, adding that   government was committed to facilitating the processes of restructuring that were essential for Ghana to become internationally competitive.

Hon Iddrisu disclosed that the whole range of services provided by the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF) to the export sector was being reviewed in order to make the most strategic use of limited resources and that loans and grants were being made more client-oriented and better-suited to cater for the needs of small and medium-size enterprises.

He disclosed that government would devote dedicated resources to GEPA in 2014 to strengthen its work in the Services sector which, he said, was one worth positioning in the export portfolio of the country.

Statistically, he said, it was envisaged that by 2020, services were expected to represent half the world’s economy, with world imports of commercial services,  currently,  exceeding US$ 4 trillion while Ghana’s exports of services, as captured by the International Trade Centre (ITC), totaled about US $3billion in 2012.

Hon. Iddrisu commended personnel of the Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Unit at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for the good work they were doing, noting that through their services, many people from Ghana and beyond had had reconstructed and better bodies and lives while also generating foreign exchange for the country.

In a welcome address, Mr Gideon Quarcoo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEPA, pledged GEPA’s preparedness to continue to work with other export agencies to facilitate exports and urged exporters to ensure that they complied with the expectations of the market, acquire the relevant permits and certificates before exporting, pay attention to quality issues and avoid practices that led to the ban of exports from Ghana.

Mr Quaecoo said the NTE sector was growing and making significant contributions to national economic development.

He said notwithstanding a slight decline of 2.43% in export earnings in 2012 as against earnings in 2011, i.e., from US$2.423 billion in 2011 to US$2.364 billion in 2012, the sector had made a lot of market inroads and that the decline had led to aggressive export promotion and development by GEPA in collaboration with other key export stakeholders.

He disclosed that the provisional NTEs earnings for the half-year period (January to June 2013) depicted a positive growth of about 12% over earnings for the same period in the previous year and that the target of   US$3.3 billion for 2013 was achievable.

He indicated that in pursuance of its mandate, GEPA supported the exporter community with export development and promotion activities.

This year, he said, GEPA had successfully co-ordinated the participation of 25 export companies  in three international trade fairs― Ambiente and  Biofach Fair, both in Germany; Africa Fair in Japan; and Izmir Fair in Turkey while confirmed export orders worth US$390,000 were obtained for handicrafts during the Ambiente Fair, with good prospects showing up for agricultural and manufactured products exhibited during the Biofach Fair in Germany, the African Fair in Yokohama Japan and the Izmir Fair in Turkey respectively.

He said GEPA also participated in a bilateral business forum in Benin and exhibited Made-in-Ghana goods, with representatives of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE), Export Development and Agric Investment Fund (EDAIF), Ghana investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), and Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) in attendance.

On training and capacity building, Mr Quarcoo said during the period January to August 2013, GEPA had trained a total of two hundred and seventy four (274) Clients, facilitated a two-day capacity building workshop for GEPA Management and Staff under the partnership Agreement between Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) in March 2013, and organized meetings with companies in the horticultural and natural ingredients sectors during which the CBI Programme Managers briefed the exporters on new Export Coaching Programmes to be implemented in the course of the year with GEPA’s assistance.

On business development and attraction of Foreign Direct Investments, he said GEPA facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) and a Turkish firm, Afrimeks Foreign Trade Limited based in Izmir under which Afrimeks would act as broker to attract buyers for CPC products.

Furthermore, he said GEPA, in collaboration with Afrimeks Foreign Trade Limited of Turkey, had facilitated the process for three (3) Turkish companies dealing in the manufacture of fertilizer and PVC profile, and construction services to establish their presence in Ghana.

Mr Quarcoo said the Authority liaised with the National ECOWAS Unit hosted by the Africa and AU Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and facilitated approval of 19 manufacturing enterprises in Ghana under the   ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme   (ETLS).

He said in line with GEPA’s strategic objective of creating the necessary awareness of the services sector, GEPA had embarked on a series of national sensitization programmes on professional services’ export and its impact on economic growth and the prospects available to the service practitioner.

GEPA, he said, also held sensitization meetings with the IT-Enabled Services Group, the Cardiothoracic Center and the Reconstructive Surgery and Burns Unit at KBTL, and conducted two workshops in Tamale and Bolgatanga.  

GEPA, he said, was also organizing exporters to participate in trade fairs and solo exhibitions in Nigeria, Liberia & La Cote d’Ivoire, as part of its strategic ECOWAS market access initiatives, and that some Fifty (50) exporters were currently participating in the Abuja International Fair in Nigeria while selected Ghanaian horticultural exporters would be linked with prospective buyers in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.

He said in its efforts to find markets in countries which were hungry for made in Ghana products, GEPA was collaborating with the Ghana-China Friendship Association (GHACHIFA) to organize companies from various sectors to participate in the 6th China-Yiwu International Forest Products Fair for the first time in which Ghana’s contingent for the Fair would include forty (40) exporters.

Mr Quarcoo gave due credit to the Export Development and Agric Investment Fund for the wonderful collaboration with GEPA and their continued, and increased support for GEPA’s programmes and activities for the development and promotion of exports.

Source: ISD (G.D. Zaney)