Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) said it is working to enhance access of Ghanaian products into the Chinese market but urged Ghanaian exporters to improve standards and quality of products to be able to take advantage of the huge opportunities.
Mr Gideon Quarcoo, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), said while there were clear signals that China was ready to partner Ghana, the responsibility lies on Ghanaian entrepreneurs to take advantage of the offer.
“China is a worthy trade partner and Ghana is on the horizon of a new relationship but all depend on exporters readiness to explore that market,” he said.
Mr Quarcoo was speaking at a review forum of the 6th China Yiwu Forest Products Fair, which brought together exporters and institutions, which participated in the fair to share their experiences and map the way forward.
GEPA, under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and in collaboration with the Ghana/China Friendship Association (GHACHIFA), co-ordinated the participation of over 50 Ghanaian entrepreneurs and institutions in the 2013 China-Yiwu International Forest Products Fair held from November 1 to 4 at Yiwu in the Zhejiang Province of China
It was the first time Ghana participated in the Fair, which has attracted over 1,300 enterprises from 24 countries and regions and 21 domestic provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, as well as forest industry groups.
Mr Quarcoo said while GEPA was promoting the country’s non-traditional export items, there was also the need for exporters to explore technology transfer and investment to add value to enhance competitiveness in the global market.
He said Ghanaian entrepreneurs and their Chinese counterparts must learn to understand each other’s laws and business practices, adding that the future was bright despite the challenges.
Mrs Agnes Gifty Adjei-Sam, Deputy Director Research and Trade Information GEPA, in a report said Ghana’s participation in the Yiwu fair was highly successful as seen in the keen interest shown by China in Made-in-Ghana Products.
She said following the successful participation, GEPA had received and was studying a Memorandum of Understanding from the organisers of the Yiwu Fair for a permanent collaboration and partnership.
Besides, some of the exhibitors in the Fair had received credible orders for supply of their products.
Despite the gains, she said, the Chinese market was very sophisticated with peculiar constraints, which required deliberate and focused entry approaches and called for constant stakeholder meetings to plan how to consolidate the hold in the Chinese market.
Mrs Adjei-Sam urged the exporters to include on their products labels information on the their production processes.
Mr Gao Wenzhi, Counsellor, the Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s Office, Embassy of China, said China has special policy towards Africa and urged Ghanaian exporters to learn from their participation in the fair.
Source: GNA
