The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Osafohene Dr. Afua Asabea Asare I, has highlighted the importance of export quality to global competitiveness.
She believes that the European market would be difficult to penetrate in the absence of deliberate effort, adding that the horticultural sector, with its variety of high-quality produce, is key to this drive.
“Without a conscious effort to maintain and improve quality, we have no chance in the European market,” she said.
For her, the country’s favourable climate, fertile soil, and the dedication of farmers and exporters provide the country with a unique competitive advantage as far as the country’s major horticultural export markets are concerned.
She said GEPA’s efforts, together with those of other relevant stakeholders, have contributed immensely to enhancing the growth of the export sector over the past several years and charting a clear path.
According to Dr. Asabea Asare, a revised national export development strategy has been formulated, based on which they can expect a dramatic improvement in the export sector to the tune of approximately US$ 25.3 billion by 2029.
“The goal of the national export development strategy is to generate at least US$ 25.3 billion by the year 2029; although this is not an easy feat to achieve, GEPA is poised to do what it takes for this goal to be achieved, and it is for this reason that we have been deepening our collaboration with all export sector stakeholders, both public and private,” she explained.
She disclosed that the agri-sector, among other stakeholders, contributed significantly to the country’s 11.75 percent growth in non-traditional export earnings in 2023, which accounted for 24 percent of mechanised exports.
“In 2023, Ghana recorded a non-traditional export revenue increase of about US$3.9 billion, representing an impressive growth of 11.75 percent and contributing 24 percent of total mechanised exports, and it is because of the efforts that all of you, our stakeholders, put in, especially from the agri-sector.”
She, however, attributed the growth to the emphasis on value-enhanced products (manufactured and semi-manufactured products) rather than raw materials.
The GEPA CEO reported further that the horticultural subsector in 2023 recorded US$ 495.8 million of the total export earnings compared to US$ 599.9 million in 2022, ascribing the gap to insufficient raw material supply.
She has called on all stakeholders to remain committed to efforts to address the dip in growth by enhancing exporter capacities, promoting global market competitiveness, and increasing horticultural export revenue.
Nonetheless, she admitted that there were some challenges faced by farmers and exporters in the fruits and vegetables sector, which include high production costs, a lack of agricultural inputs, and inadequate working capital.
“GEPA will continue to provide its advocacy and facilitator role by supporting the horticultural sector through strategic initiatives such as the referral of the cocoa nut sector by supplying disease-tolerant cocoa nut seedlings to farmers and supplying pineapple suckers to farmers under capacity-building programmes through the GEEPA export school, among several others,” she added.
Dr. Asabea Asare delivered these remarks on Monday, May 27, 2024, during the launch of the maiden Ghana Horticulture Expo organised by the Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE).
It was under the theme “Celebrating Ghana’s Floral Diversity, Produce Quality, Export More.”
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