With barely 24 hours left for this year’s Ghana International Furniture and Woodworking Industry Exhibition, dubbed “GIFEX 2008” to take off, over 100 local and foreign exhibitors are said to be briskly bracing for the event scheduled to take place at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre, La, Accra. It is scheduled to end on Sunday, October 26. Participants comprise loggers, millers and wood processing companies, furniture producers using wood in combination with metals, glass and plastics, real estate developers, bamboo and rattan furniture producers, research and educational institutions, importers of wood products, and machinery and equipment manufacturers and dealers. The exhibition, the 12th edition, is under the theme: “1,000 Years of Forestry in Ghana - Networking Partnerships for Sustainable Development”. Among others, it is to commemorate 100 years of forestry in Ghana and 50 years of industrialisation by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) to emphasise the link between industrialisation and natural resources. GIFEX was first held in 1985 and subsequently every year, until 1997 when it was temporarily suspended which, according to the Forestry Commission, was “due to some organisational challenges and other problems”. The Forestry Commission decided to reactivate GIFEX in line with the forestry sector objective to promote viable and efficient forest industries which utilise relatively less resources to achieve higher returns through large scale production and sales of value-added wood products. The exhibition, will among its objectives, expose the challenges faced by the industry and provide an opportunity for the re-examination of the industry for appropriate policy interventions. Additionally, it is geared towards exposing the woodworking industry to modern machinery and production technology in order to increase efficiency and competitiveness, promote large scale exports of value added wood products from lesser used species as well as provide opportunities for investment. It is also expected to expand markets and enhance the foreign exchange capacity of industry through value addition, broaden the raw material base of the wood industry through the processing of the lesser used species, promote the wood industry and enhance intra African trade. According to the Executive Director of the Forestry Commission, Mr Alhassan N. Attah, the 10-day exhibition would be broadened to include other sectors like IT, banking, shipping and insurance with emphasis on transfer of technology. Others included research organisations, training institutions and professionals in related industries such as engineering. “The time has come for us to take a new approach to save and move the industry forward,” Mr. Attah stated, adding that the intention of the Forestry Commission was to once again make this biennial exhibition a regular affair in Ghana and for that matter in Africa. The Director of Business Development Service of AGI, Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, said the exhibition, apart from the wood products, would showcase a wide range of products from pharmaceutical, textile and other companies. He said the platform was challenging but a good opportunity for members of AGI to sell their brand and products to a wider market. The exhibition has been categorised into two zones, with the first zone showcasing made-in-Ghana furnishing, imported furnishing, service industries, IT and communication industry and wood craft to meet tourists’ needs and home decor. The second zone will be characterised by conferences and seminars with topics ranging from forestry, finance and climate change and opportunities for investment in the forestry sector. The exhibition is being supported by the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines; the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiatives; the Ghana Timber Millers Organisation; the Ghana Timber Association, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Export Development and Investment Fund. Source: Ghanaian Times