As part of efforts to accelerate economic growth and drive foreign exchange, the Ghana Shippers’ Authority has held a forum to abreast importers and exporters on some of the country’s trade agreements and how they can position themselves to take advantage of it.

The Forum which was under the theme; Facilitating Shipment under Ghana’s Preferential Trade Agreements’ saw various importers and exporters from different sectors participate.

Trade data from the Integrated Customs Management Systems (ICUMS) has revealed that Imports through the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) have exceeded exports since the inception of the Trade Agreement in 2021.

As a result, trade facilitation agencies have been advised to put in place programs and devise policies that would increase exports as it is key to foreign exchange earnings and a driver of economic growth.

It is on the back of this that the Ghana Shippers’ Authority held its exporters Forum to interact with importers and exports and expose them to some of Ghana’s Trade Agreements they can take advantage of. Fred Asiedu Dartey is the Head of Freight and Logistics at the Ghana Shippers Authority.

“A number of exporters are not up to speed with these available opportunities and consequently as Ghana shippers Authority which is mandated to promote and protect the interests of shippers, we thought that it's appropriate to create a forum, bring them all together and walk them through their available, preferential treatments that are in the various agreements,” he said.

An Officer with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Abdul Aziz Saake educated the shippers on the effective use of digital platforms to assist in trade facilitation and the avenues to lodge complaints, and to receive real-time feedback.

“Rules of origin are paramount to us. We have to make sure that before we qualify you to enjoy the preference, you must meet all the criteria and all the rules that are spelled out in a specific FTA that you are applying for,” explained.

An Officer with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Stephen Opoku shared some important nuggets on some of Ghana’s Trade Agreements.

“We have EPA, we have UKTP, we have AGOA. Now we've come to AfCFTA somebody will ask questions what's the difference, there is a big difference but, it is also not to suggest that one is more important than the other because the market dynamics will show,” he said.