Ghana recorded close to 4 billion dollars in non-traditional exports in the year 2023. This record accounts for an 11% increase over the 3.53 billion dollars recorded in 2022. Yet, it is some 21 billion dollars’ shy of the 2029 goal of 25 Billion dollars set in the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS), but the Ghana Export Promotion Authority remains optimistic in achieving this ambitious target in five years by consolidating the gains made in recent years while waiting to reap the full benefits of key investments.
The 3,944,146,717 United States Dollars generated by the end of 2023 as revenue from the export of non-traditional products such as shea butter, iron and steel products, coconut and more, make up 24% of the 16-billion-dollar total national export revenue, a statistic provided by the Bank of Ghana indicates.
The remarkable boost in 2023 was as a result of some programs aggressively pursued by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority over recent years. This includes product development and supply-based expansion like the coconut revitalization program and pineapple expansion program where farmers are provided with seedlings and inputs to help them meet export demand. This has gone a long way to maintain Ghana’s position as the number one source in Africa for these products.
GEPA continues to also provide market access to Ghanaian producers and exporters through their core promotional activities such as trade fairs and expos in countries across the globe. This has been crucial in helping exporters focus on their core competencies while allowing the professionals to market their products for them.
This revelation came when the Head of Research, Dr. Martin Akogti and the Head of Public Relations, Mr. Chris Amponsah Sackey, at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority interacted with Solomon Anderson on the Eye on Port program last Sunday on Accra-based Metropolitan television.
The Head of Public Relations at GEPA, Chris Amponsah Sackey stated that as part of his outfit’s commitment to diversify Ghana’s non-traditional exports and expand the reach of local products, the GEPA Impact Hub, one of the institution’s flagship programs aims to provide services such as market research on products that exporters want to export. He encouraged exporters to take advantage of the state-of-the-art GEPA Impact Hub facility which is technology-driven with a database that exposes the global marketplace to users.
“So as an exporter or one who wishes to export you can come in and do your research on the product that you want to export to know which countries you can even take these products to and the good thing is that we have officers there to even assist you. This database is quite expensive so individuals are not able to purchase them because you have to keep renewing them almost every year. At the Ghana Exports Promotion Authority, we have all these things and we don’t charge exporters any fee”, he stated.
Mr. Sackey also stated that while his outfit continues its strategic partnership with key stakeholders, monetary support from the government will help make the 10-year target pronounced in the NEDS a reality.
“So all things being equal, if all the things that we need are provided, then we should be able to get to that 25.3 billion dollars. For example, the document will tell you that we need about 2 billion dollars to be able to reach the 25.3 billion dollars,” he indicated.
However, the Head of Research at GEPA, Dr. Martin Akogti, revealed that another hurdle, that continues to serve as a stumbling block is the sad reality where many Ghanaian producers are unable to meet the export demand where they have obtained market access.
“If a company outside requests for a monthly supply of a 20ft-container-full of coconut, many Ghanaians will not be able to provide.”
This is why Ghanaian exporters must associate themselves with the Export Promotion Authority, sign up for the Export School, and take advantage of other tools at their disposal, to augment their capacities to produce at wide scale.
For Small and medium-scale enterprises, the GEPA officials said, due to logistical challenges in delivering at large scale, the Authority is able to help achieve export success by facilitating the consolidation of goods with other exporters.
The Trade House in Kenya, the first of many similar projects to come, they said, has garnered remarkable attention serving as a one-stop-shop for Ghanaian products. They urged exporters to reach out to GEPA to partake in this great opportunity.
Dr. Martin Akogti also disclosed that his outfit is working with the Ghana Roots, Crops and Tubers Exporters Union to augment the performance of yam and other related products on the international market.
He said a review of the NEDS document will soon be conducted to measure current performance against the original vision in 2020.