By Gloria Anderson
Traditional traders who participated in the EU, Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Compete Ghana training modules on the requirements needed to export to the EU markets have shared great stories of the benefits of the training.
The exporters said they have seen exponential increase in their revenues after the training. The training funded by the EU under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry opened exporters to EU markets.
Trade Minister T.K Hammond samples some delicacies.
The traders said the benefits of the Compete Ghana programme have reflected not only in their revenues but also in the experiences gained, which have made an impact. The traders expressed this in an interview with GBC online on the sidelines of Association of Ghana Industries-European Union’s (EU) fair dubbed, “Industrialization Through Sustainable and Efficient Supply Chains” in Accra.
Madam Francisca Nana Ama Diokoto, Chief Executive Officer of Nature’s Beauty, producers of natural cosmetics, said the training from Compete Ghana had helped her in diverse ways, stating that “I think it is going to expose me to the international market, and I am very grateful for that.”
“They have given us much knowledge about the international export requirements, packaging, and certification, among others, and so we are ready to export to the EU market,” she added.
Madam Stephanie Appiah, Chief Executive Officer of Hepany showing products to Mr. Gebara.
Madam Stephanie Appiah, Chief Executive Officer of Hepany, producers of hair care products for natural hairs, also expressed her readiness to export to the EU market. Mr Nicholas Gebara, Team Lead for Compete Ghana, said for Ghanaian exporters, since 2016, exporting to the EU market was duty-free and quota-free.
Mr. Nicholas Gebara, Team Lead for Compete Ghana in an interview.
He said they were assisting some ministries and various business agencies to build their capacities to help the private sector implement the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
The team lead indicated that some of the challenges faced were the procedures and legal requirements needed to export to the international market and access to the market, stating that they also assisted in that regard.
Mr Gebara encouraged some organisations to be strong internally, build their own organisational capacities, and revise their existing business plans to include export strategies.
He said, “under the programme, we have 40 companies, and here we have just a selection of them to exhibit to us here, but in the next three months we are coaching them into how to export and how to organize yourself to access the market in the EU.”
Irchad Razaaly, Ambassador of the European Union to Ghana, emphasised the benefits of the economic partnership for both Ghana and the EU. Mr. Razaaly said, ‘’the European Union is duty free and quota free for all Ghanaian goods and services.” He mentioned that as we are currently speaking, Ghana is exporting two billion Euros worth of goods to the EU. It is the expectation that the number will increase.