Accra, July 14, GNA - Ghana continues to attract huge American business interest a year after the visit of President Barack Obama, United States Embassy in Accra stated on Wednesday.

"The Embassy has seen a 100 per cent to 200 per cent increase in the number of inquiries from American businesses seeking to do business in Ghana.

"This month two new airline services were inaugurated by American flag carriers flying direct to Ghana, tripling the number of direct flights between our countries each week from 6 to 18, and tripling the numbers of ports of entry for Ghanaians taking direct flights to the US: New York, Washington, and Atlanta.

"Ghanaian exporters can now take advantage of the increased cargo capacity that these flights provide, and more American investors can come to Ghana from the U.S." a statement issued by the Embassy in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency stated.

According to the statement, between January and April this year, cocoa paste and cocoa powder exports to the US grew substantially following two significant US investments in state-of-the-art cocoa processing facilities last year in Kumasi, and the Tema Free Zones Area.

"These were multi-million dollar investments that employ hundreds of Ghanaians in highly skilled labor, and contributing significant tax revenues to the government of Ghana," the statement explained.

The Embassy statement also considered trade and investment as two critical components of the two countries bilateral economic relations.

"Ghana exported 135 million dollar worth of products to the US last year, making America, Ghana's fifth largest customer.

"Ghana imports 634 million dollar worth of products from the US each year, making America, Ghana's fourth largest source of imports and in terms of Foreign Direct Investment in Ghana, Americans invested in 167 projects worth 2.5 billion dollars over the last 15 years," the statement stated.