Accra Oct. 13, GNA - Government in collaboration with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, is developing a national export strategy under the national Trade Policy and Support Programme of the Ministry of Trade.

"The strategy will help determine the potential lead sectors, products and services, which have the highest growth prospects in the international market," Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiative announced at the 19th National Awards For export achievement. The 2007 Award was organized by the Ghana Export Promotion Council in Accra last Saturday. It is to recognise the contribution of players in the Non-Traditional Export (NTE) Sector to the economic prosperity of the country.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah said the NTE sector recorded a growth of about one billion US dollar mark reaching an all-time high of 1,200 billion US dollars representing about 30.5 per cent growth over the 2006 figure. The sector he said, therefore, contributed 27 per cent to the total export earning of the country for 2007. Mr Edward Boateng, Executive Secretary of the Ghana Export Promotional Council said the achievement was as a result of efficient programmes and projects implemented by the Ghana Export Promotional Council (GEPC).

He said factors that led to the growth include the improvement in the performance of manufacturing sector, enhancement of market access programmes for exporting companies which came as a result of support from the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) and product diversification. Some of the award winners were the Ghana Rubber Estates Limited taking home the Export of the year award, the Export Development and Investment Fund, the Export Service of the year and the Ghana Nuts Company Limited adjudged the most diversified exporter of the year. On a whole, fourteen corporate bodies were awarded under the gold category and thirteen under the silver category