Government is to establish a non-partisan export advisory council to provide expert opinion on how to improve exports in the country.
The body, when constituted, would comprise former ministers of trade and industry, former chief executives of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and players from the private sector including the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).
The out-going Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, who announced this at the Graphic Business/ Fidelity Bank Breakfast Meeting in Accra said his outfit was seriously considering the setting up of the council.
The breakfast meeting which was on the theme: “maximising value of exports to improve Ghana’s trade balance,” was organised by the Graphic Communications Group Limited and Fidelity bank.
According to Mr Iddrisu, there was a directive from the presidency for action in that direction and would therefore be considered seriously.
The move, he explained, had become necessary considering the fact that the country had not been able to maximise its export potential as it kept recording a trade deficit in that direction.
Statistics the minister provided and described as “worrying” showed that the country’s trade deficit from imports and exports had increased from US$5billion in 2008 to US$20 billion as at the end of 2013.
In the area of Non Traditional Exports (NTEs), the country was only doing US$2.4 billion in terms of exports.
Consequently, the country, he said, had launched its National Export Strategy to raise the global competitiveness of the country’s non-traditional exports.
The National Export Strategy
The strategy document is a five-year plan comprising 23 national export developmental projects to be implemented across five strategic thematic areas.
It is expected to be implemented from 2013-2017 with the aim of doubling revenue from NTEs at the end of implementation.
The strategy will also look at areas where the country has strength in the export market as against opportunities that exist and see how best to tap into those opportunities.
Driving exports through EU Markets
Mr Iddrisu explained that the country, together with other heads of state of ECOWAS, recently took a major trade decision with the European Union (EU) aimed at facilitating trade access to the EU market.
According to him, “we very much cherish and value our relationship with the EU and conclusively the ECOWAS heads of state have decided to have a relationship of a preferential trade agreement with the EU.”
“Suffice to add that the market access regulations under the regime, net fiscal compensation together with other issues of ratification and more importantly taking advantage of this forum to build the capacities of Ghanaians for expanded exports with an open market, we can do better in terms of improving the foreign exchange regime,” the minister explained.
Mr Iddrisu stressed the need for an improvement in the performance of the macro economy as the country could not solely rely on it being an oasis of peace and democracy to drive its economy.
“It is not enough to say that Ghana remains an oasis of peace if the fundamentals of the economy are not right. The two need to work together. We need to improve the performance of the macro economy,” he said.