The Industrial and Technology Fair - INDUTECH 2013 – has opened at the Kumasi Cultural Centre to expose the Ghanaian populace to locally produced goods and services.

Some 100 exhibitors from Ghana and the West African sub-region are marketing their products and services to a projected 25,000 visitors trooping the Fair grounds.

Industrial goods being exhibited include textiles and garments, pharmaceuticals, wood products, artifacts, processing machinery and agro-food products. Others are financial service providers, regulatory agencies and knowledge-based institutions.

Chief Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Nii Ansah Adjei, noted that the agro and agri-business sector is a priority area under the government’s new Industry Policy and the Industrial Sector Support Program.

He urged local entrepreneurs and businesses to take full advantage of opportunities offered by the Fair to build partnerships with both foreign and local counterparts represented at the Fair.

”The Ministry of Trade and Industry is with strong conviction that, as part of efforts to diversifying and expanding our export base particularly non-traditional exports, international fairs such as this one, could serve as a major vehicle to achieve this goal,” he said.

He called for the strengthening of effective collaboration between industry and knowledge-based organisations for Ghanaian producers to be innovative in the current global market. The 6-day International Trade Fair is organised by the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo branch of Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), with the Multimedia Group as media partners.

Chairman of the event planning committee, William Awuku Ahiadormey describes patronage of exhibitors as encouraging.

He announced four sessions of side seminars to treat subjects of interest to producers and consumers.

The “Indutech 2013 Kumasi” is holding between March 27 and April 1, 2013, under the theme: “Improving Market Share of Made in Ghana Goods, the Challenges of Access to Markets in a Global Competitive Market”.