Chief Executive officer of Ghana Export Promotion Agency (GEPA), Dr. Afua Asabea Asare says the export industry has made significant strides in its operations in an attempt to meet its USD 25.3 billion targets by 2029.
According to her, although Ghanaian export products are thriving in the European countries, GEPA would leverage opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to increase export to other African countries, which was currently low.
“In 2021 we exported to 152 countries and the EU and the UK market continue to top our export destinations contributing 35.9% to total market value. There is a lot we can do to turn things around and we set our minds to be export-oriented and aligning our operations to the pillars of the national export development strategy,” she stated.
Speaking at the launch of the report on the analysis of the 2021 Non-Traditional Exports Statistics at the Ministry of Trade and Industry press briefing on Tuesday, she said the 17% revenue increment in the 2021 Non-Traditional Export sector could only have been achieved with the help of every individual in the Export fraternity.
She however noted that it is important for stakeholders within the public and private sectors to help in the national export development to meet their set target and also stay focused on its operations.
“The success of this strategy relies on the collaborative efforts of public-private sector partnership. They are very focused on what we are doing and we work with the national export development strategy, we should be able to achieve this,” she said.
Meanwhile, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah indicated that the talk about Ghana requesting the IMF for a balance of payment support program has made the attempt to improve Non-Traditional Exports, in particular, more crucial now.
He said the report launch is essential and will serve as a premise to demand more effort to develop non-traditional exports in the coming years.
Source: Edith Odoom/ATLFMNEWS
