Ghanaian basket exporters to the German market are set to start smiling again as the Bolga baskets woven in Ghana have recaptured the German market again.

So far three companies, Geolicraft Ventures, Delata and Bilafrick Crafts and Mats Studio have won orders for the supply of large quantities of the Bolga basket to clients in Germany, while two others TY Kente and Craftsman’s Studio have also won orders for the supply of Kente products and Stuffed dolls respectively.

This was disclosed in a report prepared by the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) on its participation of the 2010 edition of the Ambiente Frankfurt, International Trade Fair.

The Bolga Baskets had lost their market competitiveness to their Asian competitors from Vietnam as the Asians were able to produce in large quantities to satisfy the high demands of the German market. And even though those produced in Ghana are of good quality, the production methods have not encouraged mass production.

However, Ghana’s Bolga Basket is now in high demand because, buyers have now realized that the Vietnamese basket is of inferior quality.

“Buyers who visited GEPC stand during the Ambiente 2010 confessed that they were turning their attention towards Ghana again because the Vietnamese basket is inferior to the Ghanaian Bolga basket. That accounted for the high demand by buyers of the Bolga basket during the fair,” it stated.

Notable buyers of the basket and other Ghanaian handicraft products include Florists, Premium incentive buyers, wholesaler &distributors, Souvenir / resort shops, Gift basket dealers, Gallery & museums as well as Children’s gift and craft dealers.

In addition to the Bolga Baskets Ghana’s Kente was also in high demand during the Ambiente Fair 2010, with many exporters winning orders.

Other buyers are Craft and hobby shops, Bed / bath / linen /decorative accessory dealers, Gift shops, Chain stores, Speciality retailers, Departmental stores, Bridal ware shops as well as Home furnishing dealers. Explaining the rationale behind the GEPC’s participation in the fair, the report stated that Ambiente Frankfurt is the number one contact exchange for the design scene where both new comers and established stars of design would meet interesting international niche suppliers as well as the global players of consumer goods industry.

“In this particular trade fair, there is stiff competition from the Far East, but there is also room for exporters with attractive and innovative products,” the report added.

It said the Council therefore seized the opportunity tore launch Ghana and recapture her lost market position in Germany especially in the Bolga basket trade and attract new buyers for Ghanaian products.

“GEPC also used the opportunity to study new seasonal trends in the German market, while it also studied some new techniques and technologies that can facilitate production for Ghanaian exporters,” it added. On the trip were the board Chairman of the Council, Kobina Ade Coker, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kwadwo Owusu Agyeman, Head of Handicraft Department Theodora Froko, Senior Export Development Officer at the Handicraft Department Adwowa Armah-Taggoe and Yao Anaglo representing National Association of Handicraft Exporters (NAHE).

In the Handicrafts sector, Ghanaian’s main competitor is Kenya however, the development of Ghana’s Handicraft sector is increasing due the Healthy Macro Economic Environment, stable political system and a stable economy as compared to Kenya.

The report however noted sadly that although Germany is Ghana’s number one (1) market for Handicrafts in the European Union, the market for handicrafts sector from seven African nations put together in Germany is less than one percent (1%).

“The sector therefore needs to have more information on quality, pricing and specification on export,” it advised, urging GEPC to use the platform Ambiente provides to sustain Ghana’s position.

GEPC has been playing a leading role in the development of the export sector in Ghana by establishing export production villages across the country.

“Although Ghana has recaptured its lost market position in the Bolga Basket Trade in Germany production methods in the sector do not encourage mass production,: the report observed, recommending that GEPC should re-visit its Export Production Village (EPV) in the Upper East Region to meet the demand of the international market.

Prampram has been recommended for the establishment of another crafts village because of its proximity to Accra in addition to its stretch of vast flat land and a serene atmosphere, coupled with a very good road network and regular power and water supply.

It said GEPC needs to collaborate with the Ministries of Tourism and Local Government and Rural Development for their efforts to pay dividends, as Craft production is scattered all over the country.

In view of the high demand of Ghana’s Kente during the Ambiente Fair 2010, wthe report recommended also that the Agotime-Kpetoe EPV should also be revisited. This will create jobs and help alleviate poverty. It will also earn foreign exchange for Ghana.

The handicraft industry used to be one of the fastest growing sectors of Ghana’s economy. However in recent times it has witnessed some dwindling fortunes both in volume and value as the following data shows;

YEAR VALUE USD - MILLIONS 2007 3.796 2006 4.490 2005 2.882 2004 5.202 2003 4.167 2002 11.310 2001 14.892 2000 4.977 1999 6.655 1998 6.387 1997 4.719 1996 2.922 1995 2.073 1994 2.327 1993 2.576 1992 1.471 1991 0.879 1990 0.454

The United States of America is Ghana’s biggest market for Handicrafts followed by the European Union particularly Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

However, recently, most buyers have turned their attention to other countries because some Ghanaian exporters do not deliver on time and most products are repetitions of old designs.

As markets change and evolve so must the products to meet the need of the market. However, the little or no response to changing markets has led to Ghana losing its market position. As a result of this, GEPC and Trade Facilitation Office Canada (TFOC) intervened to assist the industry in 2007, in the area of product design and development in order to arrest the decline in Ghana’s volume of export and earnings.

SOURCE: Financial Intelligence (www.fighana.com) Justice Lee Adoboe