The Ghana Exports Promotion Authority (GEPA) has engaged with some producers and exporters of goods in the North East Region to ensure that they have effective and unrestricted trade within the African continent.
GEPA engaged those involved in shea butter production, rice production, watermelon production, exporters and potential exporters as well as other producers of exportable goods to create an enabling environment for them to produce more for export without tariff barriers.
The essence of the engagement was also to assist the exporters and producers to expand their production base and to build human capacity.
The engagement was also to ensure that the exporters are given certification for effective free trade with members of the AfCFTA to dilate the business relationships with these exporters without challenges when it comes to clearing goods at the ports.
Speaking on the sideline of the launch, Yakubu Yussif, representative from the National AfCFTA Coordinating Office in Accra said the meeting with the producers and the exporters is an opportunity for them to widen their tentacles in the production sector to create more jobs in the country.
“We are lucky that we have the headquarters [of AfCFTA] in Ghana. So we are here to build the capacity of our exporters and to create awareness of the opportunities under the AfCFTA. It is a very big single market that is made up of 54 African countries. We are looking at the strength of 1.2 billion people,” he said.
“We are also looking at how we can increase the export net for Ghanaian exporters so that the country can get more revenue in terms of foreign currencies we yield from the exports,” he added.
The Ghana Exports Promotion Authority (GEPA) zonal director at the Tamale office, Seidu Saaka Bakari also said “We are here today, Ghana Exports Promotion Authority on our National Exports Development Strategy. The strategy has three important pillars; we need to expand our production base, improve the business environment, and build [on our] human capacity.”
He reiterated that exporters need to obtain documentation and other things before they can export goods.
“Documentation and other processing before you can do your exports, we have to improve upon the documentation for the business people to have their way clear,” he added.
The event was organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) to sensitise potential producers and exporters on the implementation of the National Export Development Strategy.
It was in collaboration with state agencies under the Ministry of Trade and Industry – Ghana Standards Authority, FDA, National AfCFTA Coordination Office, among others.
Dokurugu Alhassan
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