Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah, has appealed to the US government to import more Ghanaian goods to help government achieve its ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda.
Speaking at a day’s Trade Africa Learning programme in Accra yesterday, themed “Enhancing Ghana’s Trade Competitiveness,” he said the move would improve trade, skill development and promote better market access.
It was geared towards educating stakeholders on new tools, manuals and online portals to boost income of exporters and products from Ghana.
Mr. Ahenkorah said the programme was aimed at equipping Ghanaians with the requisite technological skills to add more value to Ghanaian products.
Acting Country Director of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Steven E. Hendrix, highlighted many problems bedeviling Ghana’s government in the areas of sanitation, electricity, among others.
He said the Africa Trade Initiative is designed to introduce more goods and businesses from Ghana to the international market.
“The US government is proud to support the Government of Ghana through increased export of Ghanaian goods and businesses to the world market,” he said.
Some of the topics discussed at the event included the Public Private Collaboration in Enhancing Trade, Importance of Trade Facilitation and Ghana’s Journey to Self-Reliance and Strengthening of Institutional Capacity for private sector competitiveness.
Source: Daily Guide
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Massa, you have made my day! It is the same politicians who thwart our efforts in promoting our stuff. It takes an ambassador to help promote the nation's products. What are ours doing? PARTISAN POLITICS!!
Massa do you know who you are addressing? Stop all the rhetorics and playing to the gallery. Do you see what the Chinese are doing with their products? Price competitiveness and innovation. Do you see what the Germans are doing with their cars (Merc, BMW,Porche, VW)? Technology, innovation and reliability. Americans have given you AGOA (African Growth Opportunities Act to help your exports) since year 2000, what have the various leaders as a matter of policy initiated and targeted at exploiting this avenue? What are you producing for them to buy from you? or do you think they operate like our Create Loot and Share. Please lets get serious. As a matter of policy, lets research to identify their needs, initiate targeted policies, monitor and fine tune the process till we perfect the process by creating a niche for ourselves. Plant and herbal medicine, maybe and market that it has no adverse effect. Prove it scientifically. Please lets get serious. Have you heard about Marketing? Identify their needs, produce to meet that need, market by telling them what you have to offer and why they need what you are selling, continue to monitor their needs and produce to meet as well as create some more needs for them. Tell me what you want them to buy from you now, Sir, and the justification they will adduce for buying from you, to their people. They are held accountable, do you know that? ah! We have arable lands to grow almost everything, the other time grapes were growing in my backyard, can you believe it? someone without any basis told me it is not good for consumption, but I bet you it is from some seeds that I nursed after eating the grapes from Europe. You like apples, they said an apple a day keeps the doctors away - I dont know how true that is. anyway. They produce rice, store it for years and market it to you, they tell you it is polished long grain and perfumed rice (Uncle Sam, Texas Star etc,) your fresh rice with all the nutritious bran (fiber), they tell you it is not good, you even tell them that your local rice has stones in it, same as the beans. They tell you that is why you have to spend USD 4 billion to import food and poultry products, when you can produce or support the production yourselves. You see the Planting for Food and Jobs are yielding fruits, maize production is sufficient for us for this year, so now no importation. Let us try to improve the harvesting and storage to reduce aflatoxins, and package them and market it well, those at Plant and Food Research should research for high nutritious and long grain and perfumed maize and lets market it. They will come and buy. Lets target same for rice and plantain. You like Pizza abi or your girl likes pizza, your children like noodles. Ask them how it is made and why they like it, if they cant tell you, then that is what is called marketing. Plantain is rich in iron. Let me end because I am not writing an article, but consider it well and lets create job for or scientist and everyone to be involved.