The Secretary-General of the Ghanaian community in the People’s Republic of China, Mr Appiah Kubi, has said contrary to the view held in Ghana that Chinese goods are inferior, it is the Ghanaian trader who determined the specifications of the goods to be supplied.
He said any defect in the quality of goods imported into Ghana must, therefore, be blamed on the Ghanaian importer and not the Chinese manufacturer.
The Chinese, he said, would always provide the quality options to any trader who approached them for business and asked the business person to make a choice but the Ghanaian, he said, would always go for the cheapest. “And then back home in Ghana, blame is apportioned to the Chinese that their goods are inferior,” he stressed.
Mr Appiah Kubi who was speaking to the Daily Graphic in Guangzhou, China, said he would not blame the Chinese for the situation but rather blame it on the tendency of Ghanaian traders to maximise profit at all cost.
Affordability
He explained,that one of the reasons Ghanaian traders often went for cheaper goods was the issue of affordability, saying the Ghanaian traders would ask themselves whether customers back home could afford the price of high quality goods for which reason they opted for the cheaper ones with lower quality.
“Cheap things are very expensive; they will get damaged in no time,” he said, adding that it was the Ghanaian trader that determined the nature of the trade relationship between traders in Ghana and China.
For instance, he said, Ghanaian traders who traded in electronics purchased their products in a market in Guangzhou called ‘Dashaton’, which was noted for cheap products which were not original and made with cheap materials.
“What you can buy at a quality shop for $1,000 can be sold at $300 in that market. You will make a good profit alright but back home, people will purchase those products and later start complaining about their quality,” he said.
As a way out, Mr Appiah holds the view that the government, in conjunction with major stakeholders in the Ghana-China trading business, should organise educational sessions for those interested in trading with China.
Such training, he said, should educate them on the dynamics of the Chinese market for them to fully grasp the realities of the Chinese market in order not to fall victim or engage in the purchase of sub-standard goods.
Source: Daily Graphic
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