The new National Export Development Strategy (NEDS) drafted by Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and key stakeholders including representatives from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) is ready for Cabinet’s consideration and subsequent approval.

Its implementation is expected to begin early next year. After Cabinet has approved the policy document, it will be sent to Parliament for deliberations and passage into a formal legislative instrument.

Most importantly, stakeholders have inserted into the new strategy measures towards implementation of a package of pro-industrialisation training aa well as fiscal policy measures to enhance and promote trade. In effect, one of such fiscal policy measures aims to ensure that import duties on inputs imported for domestic production for export are either reduced or removed altogether.

This is expected to provide support for export-oriented indigenous industries and enhance their competitiveness with regards to diversification of Ghana’s export base, product transformation and value addition in production.

The key objective of the strategy is to achieve strategic growth in Non-Traditional Export (NTE) revenue to at least US$10 billion per annum by 2028.

Towards achieving this revenue target, a GEPA at 50 Export Project Competition was designed to encourage the youth to come out with various innovative proposals and ideas for export projects that can be implemented.

Speaking with the Goldstreet Business, the Director of Export Trade at the MoTI, Dr. Joshua Azure said since the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is about export, it is imperative to build the capacity of exporters in order to increase their economies of scale.

Towards this, a list of priority products likely to make significant contributions to achieving the strategic growth revenue within the next decade has been compiled. They include processed cocoa, cashew, horticultural products, oil seeds, fish and fishery products. Others are apparel, natural rubber sheets, aluminium products and articles made of plastics.

Background

Over the next decade, the average annual NTE revenue growth rate being targeted is 16.8 percent. The goal of the new strategy is to achieve not less than US$5 billion in NTE exports in each of the next three years and to realise this, stakeholders are targeting 20 percent year on year export growth.

The goal of the policy is also to incorporate the new policy into government’s industrialization and agricultural support programmes such as One District One Factory, (1D1F); Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ); Planting for Export and Rural Development (PERD) among others.