The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has launched the fourth edition of its industry awards in Accra, with a call on government to support the made-in-Ghana campaign not only in words but also in deeds.

The awards were instituted four years ago by the association to recognise outstanding success among its membership in various areas of industry and innovation.

Chairperson of the awards committee Mrs. Nora Bannerman-Abbot said they are launching this year’s edition of the awards, to be held on November 21, early in a bid to have ample time to raise awareness and to promote the brands of sponsors.

This year’s theme of the event, ‘Patronising made-in-Ghana goods to build strong industries’, was carefully chosen to remind the nation of the need for an export-oriented economy, she said.

“This should be our focus as a country, because it is critical to addressing our trade imbalances, cedi-depreciation and job-creation prospects,” she said.

“The promotion of made-in-Ghana goods has advanced to the extent that we now have a new logo that symbolises and creates a unique brand identity for the made-in-Ghana promotion. To demonstrate our commitment to this new identity, the plaques for our award winners will certainly bear this made-in-Ghana logo,” she added.

President of the association James Asare-Adjei said product manufacturing, backed by favourable policies, is key to building a strong economy.

He asked government to go beyond making pronouncements on the promotion of made-in-Ghana goods to supporting it with ‘deeds’.

Government, he said, should demonstrate commitment to building local industries, adding that: “We do not want government to say one thing and do the other”.

An estimated 83% of the rice consumed in Ghana is imported, he said, and government and industry players need to come together to find workable solutions to reverse the trend.

“It will interest you to know that as we talk about 900,000 metric tonnes of rice demand, we can only supply up to 60,000 metric tonnes. This huge gap is there for local industries to fill. This is not pleasant news at all, and it is a challenge for us as a country to close this supply gap,” he said.

Launching the awards, Trade and Industry Minister Ekow Spio-Garbrah pledged government’s commitment to local industries, a reason his ministry has taken keen interest in the made-in-Ghana campaign.

He implored industrialists to adopt greater innovation in the processes to make them more competitive.