A 20-member trade delegation from Ghana concluded a week-long visit on Friday to the Netherlands to explore opportunities for business and cooperation in food & beverage processing and agricultural inputs.

The mission was led by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and Ghana Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI), supplemented by members of GhanaVeg.

GhanaVeg is a programme funded by the Netherlands Embassy with the aim of establishing a sustainable and internationally competitive vegetable sector in Ghana that contributes to inclusive economic growth.

The goal of the trade mission was to promote cooperation, investment and exchange knowledge between Ghanaian and Dutch entrepreneurs, and to build the capacity of AGI and GCCI and its members in these sectors.

The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agri-food worldwide, exporting 65 billion euros worth of vegetables, fruit, flowers, meat and dairy products each year. According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) the Netherlands was the largest investor in Ghana in the first quarter of 2016.

The delegation visited a wide range of companies in the Netherlands active in different sectors: poultry farming, fruit and vegetable growers, dairy and oil seeds producers. The program was complemented with matchmaking, a visits to the GreenTech fair in Amsterdam and business networking events. The trade mission followed an earlier mission last year with GCCI to the Netherlands on agriculture, infrastructure and textiles.

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Ghana, H.E. Hans Docter said the trade mission is another example of how the Netherlands and Ghana are literally growing together.

The mission complements the Embassy’s efforts on private sector development in Ghana’s agricultural sector. The trade mission was commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and implemented by the Ghana Netherlands Business & Culture Council (GNBCC), the Netherlands Africa Business Council (NABC) and Dutch employers’ organization FME.     

GCCI was established with the prime objective of promoting industrial and commercial interest in Ghana and business operators, firms and industries with interests spanning every sector of private enterprise in the country.

As a business association, AGI represents over 1,200 members and aims to create a supportive and competitive business climate that will make Ghanaian companies internationally competitive.