Trade Minister visits USA

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku (MP) left Accra on Friday for a 10-day visit to the United States to participate in investment promotion meetings arranged by the African-American and Africa Foundation on Science, Education and Economic Development Incorporation (AAAFSEED) of New York and the Honorary Consuls of Ghana in Chicago and Detroit.

The highlight of the Minister's trip would be a meeting with senior officials of Wal-Mart Corporation Inc. in Arkansas, the largest retail store in the world, which has expressed interest in sourcing a portion of their 23.3 billion-dollar chocolate market from Ghana's Cocoa Processing Company Limited.

A statement in Accra said a senior official of the Company would accompany the Minister. It said Dr Apraku also had an invitation from Home Depot Inc. to discuss the possibility of the company importing some of its wood mouldings from Ghana.

Home Depot Inc. deals in about 1.7 billion dollars worth of wood mouldings annually and when the deal goes through Ghana's export of wood mouldings to the US would increase dramatically. The statement said Dr Apraku is also expected to address business forums in Chicago, Detroit and Michigan and meet with potential investors.

In a related development, Ghana's application for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Visa System that would enable the country to take advantage of the US textile and apparel market has been approved.

The Minister would, therefore, meet with US trade representatives to discuss ways that the United States could support the country in its quest to exploit fully the opportunities under the AGOA.