Accra, Feb. 2, GNA - The Ministry of Trade and Industry will

soon establish a commodity exchange and develop a regulated

warehouse receipt system to ensure price stability and provide

sustainable and affordable finance, especially to farmers who could

further use their commodities as collateral. Speaking to a cross-section of the media on Wednesday, Ms

Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry, said the regulatory

framework and strategies necessary for the commodity exchange

would be ready by the end of the year. Ms Tetteh said the Security and Exchange Commission had

already concluded feasibility studies on the Exchange and a sub-

committee had been put in place to deal with the necessary legal and

regulatory framework to ensure a take-off. On the Economic Partnership Agreements, Ms Tetteh said the

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

negotiations with the European Union were ongoing and Ghana

would continue to work with the interim agreement until the full

EPAs were concluded. Ms Tetteh said the Ministry had put in place policies to address

production and distribution through the provision of incentives for

producers. There were also plans to establish more industrial companies to

reduce the problem of rotten foodstuffs and also ensure sustenance

and operation of the industry by having company farms to

contribute to provision of raw materials. The minister spoke on the need to implement environmentally-

friendly technological measures to allow Ghanaian farmers to

produce globally accepted products. On the cotton support programme, the Minister said the ongoing

disturbance in Egypt might not have any significant impact on the

programme since the country was in the position to acquire

machinery and expertise from other countries with experience in the

field. The minister said rice production had gone up by 30 per cent,

but this development did not necessarily imply that Ghana would

reduce its rice importation. This, she explained, was because apart from the consumption of

Ghanaians, some of the rice imported into the country was transited

to neighbouring countries. She also addressed the issues affecting the textiles industry,

which, she said, were mainly copying and duplication of local

designs of fabrics by unauthorized companies and reiterated that

such illegal fabrics would be destroyed.