The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Hannah Tetteh, has urged export-ready companies to build their export capacity to meet US market standards and take full advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). She made the observation in an interview with the Business & Financial Times after she held discussions with Ghanaian companies at a round-table hosted by the USAID's West Africa Trade Hub in Accra last week. The round-table included the directors of ten export-­ready companies that work in areas the Trade Hub focuses on - such as apparel, home decor and fashion accessories, cashew, sheanut, fish and seafood, and specialty foods. Directors of banks and transport logistics companies, and partners whose services are key to the success of small and medium enterprises the Hub assists, also joined the discussion which the press was not privy to. Last year, US imports under AGOA were US$66.3 billion, 29.8 percent more than 2007. Petroleum products continued to account for the largest portion of AGOA imports, with a 92.3 per cent share of overall AGOA imports. However, apparel and textiles imports declined by 10.4 percent and agricultural products also declined by 7.9 percent ­areas where Ghana has market advantages. Ms Tetteh said: "government is committed to working with export-ready companies to find solutions to help them become more successful. In this context, government considers it a success when we help Ghanaian entrepreneurs to succeed and thrive." In this regard, government in playing its facilitation role will review the President's Special Initiatives (PSI) like the PSI on Garments and Textiles to ensure their efficacy, she noted. The Trade, Hub Director, Vanessa Adams, said the discussions with the Minister were fruitful and stressed the importance of local exporters recognising that quality is crucial to success in trade on the international markets. She said: "we believe that the way forward is through strong partnerships. It begins with identifying synergistic strategies and rapidly implementing solutions to specific constraints. " The Trade Hub has joined with public: and private partners in Ghana alldacrbss West Africa to address the challenges to trade .. Partnerships are the primary thrust of the Trade . Hub's approach. Source: B & FT