Catherine Gordor, Principal Export Development Officer at Ghana Export Promotion Authority, says Ghanaian-made local products have become competitive and sought after on the international market.

This, she said, was due to the improvement in the quality and packaging of the local products to meet international standards.

Madam Gordor said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the 3rd Made-Ghana-Bazaar organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Accra.

She said the only challenge was that the local products were in short supply as they could not meet the international demand.

She said GEPA had employed several initiatives to address the shortfall, including encouraging the youth into farming and supplying seedlings to farmers to improve their yield.

Madam Gordor said there were a lot of opportunities for the youth in the agricultural value chain and export, and advised them to take advantage of the opportunities in the export sector.

Madam Dorothy Amoah, Head of Marketing, Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), said the stringent standardisation and certification enforced by the GSA had led to the improvement in the quality and packaging of local products.

She said this had ensured that the products were exportable and had access to international markets and standards.

She urged local businesses to take their standards and certifications seriously, saying, it was their trump-card to reach the international market.

Meanwhile, some exhibitors and vendors at the Bazaar who spoke to the GNA said the public was beginning to appreciate the made-in-Ghana products.

Mabel Quarshie, Director of Aquatic Food Limited, said patronage for local products had improved as compared to previous years, saying, the public was beginning to become conscious of the need to opt for local products due to their quality.

Mrs Quarshie, however, said the inaccessibility to credit and inclusive finance remained a major challenge to Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

She, therefore, called for improved access to inclusive finance through credit facilities and increased investment in SMEs and start-ups for the advancement of local businesses in the country.

Emmanuel Tetteh Coffie, a Sales Manager of Spring Agro Industries Limited, said financial institutions needed to review their interest rates on their credit facilities to SMEs.

He said the high interest rates had led to many SMEs not being able to access credit facilities from banks and financial institutions.

Mohammed Princess Falina, CEO of Princess Fashion Design, said the market now was good compared to some years ago when she started.

She urged her colleague SMEs to take much interest in improving their packaging and quality to meet international standards.