Italian exports to Ghana increased by 30 percent in the first eight months of 2015, compared to the same period last year, Italy’s Vice Minister, Ministry of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda has said.

"In 2014, Italian exports to Ghana amounted to 160 million euros.

"In the first eight months of 2015, these grew by 30 percent over the previous year," Calenda said.

The main sectors for Italian exports were mechanical engineering, food and metallurgy, he revealed.

"Ghana's mining sector offers the best opportunities for Italian companies as the number of gold mines is expanding and oil and gas production are strengthened, leading to further growth in related industries," Calenda is quoted by pmnewsnigeria.com to have added.

Also, Italian Export Credit Agency (SACE) and other Italian companies, according to the Vice Minister, have prioritised their partnership plans with Ghana and Ethiopia. Calenda, who recently led a delegation to tour the two countries said in Rome on Tuesday.

Trade relations with Sub-Saharan African, he noted, has become imperative because the region was an important market for the future and its attractiveness had been confirmed by the government mission.

He said several initiatives launched by the Italian Government to boost exports to the region reached a billion Euros in the third quarter of 2015.

"Almost four times as much as in the same period of 2014," Calenda said.

The Vice Minister said for Ethiopia, the country's Growth and Transformation Plan 2015-20 aimed to boost industrialisation would open great opportunities for Italian exports, in particular mechanical engineering, related to sectors such as textiles and clothing, leather and tannery, chemical and pharmaceutical products.

He said in 2014, Italian exports to Ethiopia amounted to 263 million euros, in line with the previous year. These were in sectors such as mechanical engineering, transport and electrical appliances.

"SACE has set up the 'Frontier Markets' programme in sub-Saharan Africa, dedicated especially to SMEs.

"The agency offers assistance from its offices in Johannesburg and Nairobi and provides lines of credit to companies to support business with local partners," he said.

Calenda said it also supplied consultancy services to evaluate the sectors with the greatest potential and the underlying credit, political, regulatory, and environmental risks.

He said SACE always provided insurance and financial instruments to support Italian investors doing business in Africa.

Italy's primary export markets are Nigeria, Angola, the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Sudan.