Ghana projects $5b revenue from non-traditional exports by 2015

The Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) is projecting to earn $5 billion from the export of non-traditional exports by the year 2015.

The Head of Marketing and Promotion at the GEPC, Alexander Dzadzawa, told ghanabusinessnews.com that the council has adopted some strategies to target the West African market adding that so far Ghanaian exports mostly go to the European market.

He said Ghana has been unable to achieve real growth targets for its exports due to a number of factors, such as, high cost of production, unattractive packaging, lack of resources from government, and lack of access to credit for the non-traditional export business in Ghana. He said that also accounts for the reasons why some business owners prefer to import cheap products from China.

Mr Dzadzawa revealed that, Ghana earned about $1.5 billion in 2009 from non-traditional exports while China earned about the same amount from ceramics export only.

He revealed that, with the introduction of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, exporters can move goods to any ECOWAS country without paying duty.

He advocated for a fund for export promotion, calling for 10% of all EDIF receipts from 0.5% of import levy to be dedicated to the GEPC.

He also urged  that the credit system should be streamlined to aid exporters.

By Pascal Kelvin Kudiabor