Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) says all exporters of non-traditional products will in the coming weeks be engaged in an intensive orientation. 

This is to open them up to existing opportunities ahead of the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) in July.

CEO of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Afua Asabea Asare has disclosed to Joy Business this exercise is very imperative for making the non-traditional sector more competitive.

“The Continental Free Trade Agreement will be better than before; we can trade across the whole of Africa. To this end, we are trying to prepare exporters to understand what the CFTA is all about. There is going to be a forum in the coming weeks to this effect and this is all to make our non-traditional exporters highly competitive,” she stated.

With the potential of increasing the government’s export margins in the area of non-traditional products, the Continental Free Trade Agreement has been described by the government as a game changer.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement legally came into effect on May 30 as countries that have signed up have until July to work out the details of how it will work.

So far, only 24 African countries out of 54 have ratified the trade agreement with, among others, Africa’s largest economy Nigeria yet to sign.

The agreement is aimed at creating a single continental market for goods and services with free movement of goods, people and investments, similar to the European Union.

So far, experts say the CFTA will boost trade values in Africa and strengthen the continent’s position in global trade. Also, the UN's Economic Commission for Africa estimates that the agreement has the potential to boost intra-Africa trade by 53%.

2021 Export Trade Target

Meanwhile, Madam Asabea Asare has reemphasized the Authority’s commitment to achieving the $5.3 billion export trade target it has set by 2021. Despite issues of financing faced non-traditional exporters, she explained strategies being adopted to meet the targets.

She said, “GEPA continues to embark on capacity-building workshops to equip exporters with knowledge on packaging and financing to compete on the world stage”.

The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has put key strategies in place to increase its market share on the export market and attract foreign exchange into the country.

Already, the GEPA has commenced the processes of formulating a 10-year National Export Development Strategy (NEDS) from 2019 to 2028 aimed at enhancing Ghana’s effective participation in the multilateral trading system.

It is also to enable the country to take maximum advantage of market opportunities in the short, medium and long terms.

This is in line with the government’s decision to transform Ghana’s economy from a raw material exporting one to a high value-added industrialized economy through its industrial transformation agenda anchored on the one district, one factory (1D1F) and other closely-related programs.