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In Kumasi, a regional conference organized to deepen the trade opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS) was held in Kumasi.
It is the first in a series of regional events jointly organized by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and the AfCFTA National Coordination Office.
The conference, which was held on the theme “Empowering Ghanaian Businesses to Reap the Benefits of AfCFTA under NEDS,” focused on public and private companies in the Ashanti region.
GEPA Executive Director Dr. Afua Asabea Asare said the regional conference aimed to encourage industry stakeholders to take advantage of the AfCFTA to participate.
He explained that Ghana had increased its position in international trade in recent decades, recording a substantial expansion in total exports, adding that this was due to joint efforts by the Ghanaian government and private sector.
However, Dr. Asare indicated that the relatively weak performance of the non-traditional export sector (NTE) in recent years and other externalities in the international business environment have revealed risks, weaknesses and uncertainties associated with the excessive dependence on exports of commodities limited product diversification and value added.
He said that is why President Akufo-Addo wanted a complete paradigm shift from the export of raw materials to the added value of the country’s products.
Dr. Asare said that the government had embarked on an aggressive industrialization agenda that saw the establishment of several manufacturing companies under the government’s flagship 1D1F program.
The executive director said that GEPA was spearheading the formulation of a new National Export Development Strategy, which was aligned with the government’s industrialization agenda, to help promote a rapid increase in non-traditional exports over the next ten years.
The strategy, according to her, envisaged that NTEs would grow from $ 2.8 billion in 2020 to $ 25.3 billion in 2029.
Mr. Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, indicated that the AfCFTA, which was intended to generate wealth within African countries, also marked a key milestone in the government’s efforts to industrialize the country.
He projected that if all 54 African member countries implemented the AfCFTA, which began in January 2021, there would be a 52 percent increase in intra-African trade by 2022.
