The first Garment, Jewellery, Leather, Textiles and Accessories fair (GATELTA Expo) opened in Kumasi on Friday.

The 10-day fair, which is being organised by Driwald Consult, an advertising company in Accra, under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ashanti Regional Co-ordinating Council and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), is aimed at creating a platform for exhibitors to sell as they compete among themselves.

It is also to enable the exhibitors to explore how best they could join or expand their participation in exports to the American market under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) as well as other markets.

Opening it, the Ashanti Regional President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr David Darko-Mensah, said poor finishing and packaging of local products were a major concern to the association.

He said Ghana needed to develop quality products to be able to compete effectively with other countries on the international market.

Mr Darko-Mensah commended Driwald Consult for the initiative and said the fair would enable the exhibitors to interact among themselves and discover their shortfalls to improve on their products to meet international standards.

Mr Walter Djokoto, Chief Executive Officer of Driwald Consult, said healthy competition was the only way by which local industries could improve standards and quality of finishing.

He said the fair, which is under the theme "Unique Craftsmanship Excellent Finish", was also to enable consumers to choose between varieties of products at affordable prices to meet their taste.

Mr Djokoto said the fair would be organised annually and thanked companies, organisation and individuals that supported it to become a reality.