Celebrating exports excellence in Ghana

A GNA Feature by Christian Akorlie

The National Awards for Export Achievement, is an annual event organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) to pay tribute to the success and innovative approaches of Ghanaian export companies.

Covering all industries and including small, medium scale enterprises, the awards are a celebration of the contributions that exporters have made to the national economy. It has therefore become an important activity in the calendar of the exporter community.

The Awards Scheme was introduced by Government in 1989, as part of an overall national plan to boost exports from the Non-Traditional Export (NTE) sector i.e. cushion earnings from primary and unprocessed traditional export products and bridge the country’s trade balance deficit.

Specifically, the Awards aim to formally recognise the contribution of exporters in the NTE sector to the economic prosperity of Ghana; to commend exporters for exporting quality products and for breaking new grounds.

It is also to encourage higher levels of performance by exporters; to sustain the interest of exporters in the export trade; to raise and to sustain export consciousness among Ghanaians in general.

Since its inception, more than 1,000 companies and export facilitating institutions have received recognition. Companies use the award as an effective marketing tool to gain credibility globally for more export orders and to access finance.

It has also become a motivating drive to increase export earnings in quality and quantity. Earnings from the export sector have increased and sustained the economies of many countries; it is the belief of the exporter community that this event and Ghana’s exports in totality, would improve the economy and strengthen the cedi against the major trading currencies.

EXPORT FIGURES

That the exports figures have been on the rise, year in and year out speaks volumes of GEPA’s and exporters’ perseverance to excel even in the face of daunting challenges in the global market.

NTE Exports earnings reached $ 2.436 billion in 2013, an increase of 3.05 per cent over the previous year’s earnings of $ 2.364 billion.

In 2014, GEPA is targeting $3.1 billion in earnings in line with the National Export Strategy, a 30 per cent increase over the 2013 earnings.

The National Export Strategy (NES) was launched in August 2013, by the Government to give a focused guide to the growth of Ghana’s NTEs. Proceeds from the sector is expected to reach $5 billion by 2017 as an indicator of the growth.

In the words of Mr Gideon Quarcoo, Acting Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, at the 75th National Exporters Forum, the target for 2014, as well as the achievement of the $5 billion in 2017, depend on an aggressive implementation of GEPA activities and programmes.

There must also be the execution of the various projects lined up in the NES by GEPA in collaboration with other key export stakeholders.

Above all these, the Government must work towards the realisation of good macro-economic conditions such as the stabilisation of the Cedi to the Dollar, the reduction of inflation, and make funds available to the sector and to key export trade facilitating agencies, especially GEPA, to assist the private sector to drive the anticipated increases in NTE revenue this year and beyond.

AWARENESS

A national awareness of exports is important, given the over reliance of the economy on imported goods even when local substitutes exist.

Ghanaians have developed the taste for foreign goods, putting a strain on scarce foreign exchange earnings. The Awards are a clarion call to Ghanaians to patronise Made in Ghana goods.

Perhaps, these two compelling reasons must provide justification for the branding and promotion of the National Awards for Export Achievement into an “Exporters’ Day,” along the lines of the National Farmers Day celebration to further motivate Ghanaian exporters to set and attain greater heights of achievement.

The Awards are important because exports are the bedrock of every country’s success and tell the extent to which the economy is diversified.

“We are aware of the immense role foreign exchange plays in the country’s economic development and the fact that many of the NTE actors are Small and Medium Enterprises from the private sector, we hope the Award would boost their confidence and credentials to expand their activities,” Mr Quarcoo said.

There is the need for sustained focus and doubling of efforts by Government and actors in the NTE sector to curb the challenge of Ghana’s perennial trade deficits.

The NTE sector holds a great potential for job creation and economic transformation. Recent figures point to the need to develop a broader export base aside the country’s traditional strengths in gold, cocoa and, recently, oil exports.

There must also be an extension beyond the commodities markets into manufactured products and value-added services should be the way forward for the country.

It is in this direction, that the pragmatic steps to boost the export sector through supply base expansion programmes on the comparative advantage of each region of the country is important and must be pursued with all seriousness.

Apart from helping promote rural industrialisation and bridging the development gap across the country, identifying products in each region would help promote infrastructural development such as electricity and roads.

PROMOTIONS

GEPA has increased its promotional activities in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries and the rest of Africa, as well as other market destinations, especially the European Union (EU).

The participation in the 6th China-Yiwu International Forest Products Fair in collaboration with Ghana-China Friendship Association opened another window of opportunities for exporters to reach the Asian market.

In 2013 non-traditional products were exported to 140 countries.

The increased efforts in the ECOWAS market is to enable Ghana take advantage of the increasing demands of Made-in-Ghana goods and services in these markets. The results so far has been good.

For the first time in many years, the ECOWAS sub-region came top as the major destination for NTEs overtaking the EU.

The Netherlands continue to dominate the EU for Ghana’s NTEs export products, importing $243.27 million in 2013 worth of produce as compared to $288.69 million in 2012, a decrease of 15.73 per cent.

The United Kingdom ranks second with an increase of 12.84 per cent from $144.94 million in 2012 to $163.55 million.

These trends were largely influenced by the volume of imports of cocoa products and canned tuna to the two countries.

In the ECOWAS, Burkina Faso overtook Togo as the leading market for Ghana’s non-traditional products to the West African sub-region.

Imports of Ghanaian products into the Burkina Faso market increased by 19.28 per cent and amounted to $197.09 million compared to $165.23 million in 2012.

Togo’s share of imports of Ghanaian products, however, decreased by 20.18 per cent from $202.54 million in 2012 to $161.68 million.

But the full potential of these value-added products had not been realised yet and efforts must be made to achieve higher levels of value-addition through enhanced investments in agro-processing and other productive sectors.

GEPA has continued to facilitate capacity building programmes for exporters to introduce them to new trends in the export sector and the global market.

While GEPA’s preparedness to continue to work with other export agencies to facilitate exports is not in doubt, exporters must avail themselves of the opportunities created to boost exports.

They must comply with the expectations of the market, acquire the relevant permits and certificates before exporting, pay attention to quality issues and avoid practices that led to the ban of exports from Ghana.

EDAIF

In all this, the role of the Export Trade, Agricultural and Industrial Development Fund (EDAIF) to the export sector is of significant importance.

EDAIF must continue with its expansion of credit facilities and grant to exporters and export facilitating institutions alike to help them carry out their activities to help increase the earnings of the sector.

CONCLUSION

This year’s awards, to be held under the distinguished patronage of President John Dramani Mahama, should be a wake-up call to Ghanaians to patronise locally made products.

While GEPA’s preparedness to continue to work with other export agencies to facilitate exports is not in doubt, exporters must avail themselves of the opportunities created to boost exports.

There is the need for stakeholders to show a high sense of teamwork and commitment in providing exporters with the necessary financial and technical support to enhance their performance and maintain a sustainable position for NTEs in the international market.