The Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) has initiated plans to export the services of professionals such as lawyers, architects, bankers and insurance brokers.

Kofi Essien, Acting Western Zonal Officer of the GEPC, said this at a seminar organised by the Export Finance Company (EPC) and the GEPC for about 100 manufacturers in the Western Region at Tarkoradi.

He said modalities were being worked out with the International Trade Centre (ITC), adding that, workshops would be organised for the professionals before implementation.

Essien said, the GEPC recognised the tremendous market potential of the ECOWAS sub-region with an estimated population of 250m.

To take maximum advantage of this potential and to realise the full benefit of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ECLS), GEPC was undertaking a survey to facilitate market in the sub-region for some Ghanaian producers.

Essien said the GEPC had plans to establish an Internet based trade information and Electronic-Commerce system to communicate and access information. GEPC had contracted a consultant working with 12 companies to improve their lebelling, packaging, and designs to meet international standard.

He said GEPC was working manufacturing companies to get procurement orders from international agencies like the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).

He said four companies had received orders from the Red Cross and the UNHCR for products including plastics and household utensils. Farmers in the northern regions had also been assisted to cultivate soya beans for export.

Emmanuel Asiedu Appiah, General Manager of EFC said every country needed specialised institutions to provide “custom-made” solutions for exporters, adding that, “this is what EFC and Alliance General De Surveillance (Ghana Limited) (AGDS) are attempting to do for Ghanaian exporters.”