Industrialists are apprehensive about trade policies

A number of the country's industrialists have expressed their apprehension about government's policies that have continued to favour foreign imported goods against locally manufactured ones in the local market.

They said local industries should be given the leverage to enable them to compete favourably by producing at lower cost to sell cheaper than imported goods.

The industrialists noted that trade could be good for development if industries in developing economies could export their products into other economies as well as gain full access to their own markets.

This was the consensus at a day's seminar on: "Multilateral Trade System" organised by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).

It was to enable its members to get acquainted to trade systems under the Africa- Pacific-Caribbean and European Union (ACP-EU) Economic Agreement.

It is also to prepare them for the forthcoming ACP-EU meeting in Mexico.

Dr Osei Boeh-Ocansey, Director-General, Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF), said a number of industries had been established to take advantage of the opportunity offered by trade liberalisation.

"But the influx of cheap imported finished goods have undermined the growth of several local manufacturing firms, especially textile and garment firms."

He said the situation remained the same and was impacting negatively on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), even though; a lot of talk had taken place on the matter.

Dr Boeh-Ocansey, who spoke on: "Prospects For Industrial Development: Case For SMEs", noted that Ghana's trade liberalisation policy was two pronged - while making export business attractive on one hand, it was creating strong foreign competition for local industries, which were not well positioned to meet those challenges.

He said given the change in the world trading system towards freer trade, "Ghana has little choice other than to pursue a free trade policy".

Trade policy would have to be complemented by government support to local industries to provide brighter prospects for industrial development.

"This would require support to industries in the form of higher import tariffs, tax rebates, adequate credit and the provision of efficient services by the Public Sector."

He called for a sustained micro and macro economic stability, access to credit, efficient infrastructure and low cost and reliable utility services.

"When these issues are adequately addressed, Ghana would see her industries develop to take advantage of the New World trading system and consequently create employment and raise per capita incomes."

Mr Tetteh Homeku, of Third World Network was upbeat about Ghana's current trading system, saying that the nation should be able to develop its supply side of trade, which was the essence of global trading practice.

He said developing economies could not talk about trading without a consistent and competitive supply chain.

"Local industries must be able to produce to compete favourably within and outside their countries. It is the only way they can survive."

However, he noted, successive government policies have worked to compound the capacity of the supply side of the private sector to produce good materials for local and foreign consumption.

"The situation is even worsened where we have over liberalised and made our local companies play second fiddle to the foreign ones.

"Trade is important. But it is only good if it is able to induce private sector and industry to export after filling the local market," Mr Homeku said.

Touching on the Procurement Bill currently before Parliament, Mr Homeku said various aspects did not favour local industries, Ghanaian manufacturers, procurement companies and the government itself.

"For instance, what the Bill will do later is that it would take away government's power of discretion in deciding which and where certain procurement must be made," Mr Homeku said.