According to a senior member of the state agency, the Ghana Exports Promotions Authority (GEPA) will require $600 million over the next years to hit the $25 billion goal set forth in the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS).
The authority currently only receives $5 million year instead of $60 million to fund its operations, which makes it nearly impossible to reach the goal set forth in the strategy. The nation exported NTEs worth US$ 3.5 billion last year, which analysts say was underwhelming given Ghana's enormous resource potential.
Alexander Dadzawa, the authority's director of projects, who revealed this in an interview, said "Less than $5 million in funding is insufficient. One trade event costs $200,000 to put together ".
This information was revealed at a time when the 2022 Ghana's Trade Vulnerabilities Report exposed the risks and potentials of the nation's trade capabilities. For 2022, Ghana will have a negative trade balance of about GH4 billion due to a total of 148.6 billion dollars in imports and 144.1 billion dollars in exports.
One important sector that could offer the nation a route out of its dependence on imports and balance off our negative trade is non-traditional exports (NTEs). Trade specialists contend that the sector's resources were insufficient to surpass the nation's NTEs.
Four commodities—gold bullion, crude oil, cocoa beans, and cocoa paste—make up almost three-quarters (75%) of all Ghana's exports, bringing in about US$9 billion annually, according to the research.
Two hundred and ninety-nine (219) different commodities account for around seventy-five percent (75%) of all imports, or about $4 billion.
Switzerland, China, Canada, and South Africa accounted for 50% of the nation's exports, while China, the UK, Netherlands, USA, India, and Switzerland made for 50% of the nation's imports.
The survey also noted that only in Africa and North America are exports valued higher than imports.
The research also revealed that in 2022, overall exports of the nation were GH144.1 billion, while total imports were GH148.6 billion. Ghana's trading partners were 209, yet the country only imported from 209 of them while exporting to only 161 of them.
Two commodities, gold and petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals and crude, made up a whopping 67 percent of the commodities traded. This development raises the question of whether governments over time have been sincere in their efforts to fully diversify the nation's export base in order to lower the risk of global commodity price shocks and generate more revenue from unconventional exports.
Ghana made GH53.6 billion from gold bullion, GH43.3 billion from petroleum oils and oils made from bituminous minerals and crude, GH10.4 billion from cocoa beans, GH3.4 billion from cocoa paste and GH2.0 billion from cashew nuts in shell as earnings from its top export commodities.
The top five commodities that Ghana imported were diesel-automotive gas oil worth GHC 20.2 billion, light oils, motor spirit, and super worth GHC 14.7 billion, cement clinkers worth GHC 3.1 billion, used cars worth GHC 2.7 billion, and cereal grains worth GHC 2.1 billion that were worked but not rolled or flaked from other cereal grains.
Yaw Nsarkoh, a business leader, urged for immediate economic structural adjustments to create a foundation for the country's industrialization goal.
He claimed that the nation's current economic system was founded on colonial structures and a neo-liberal identity and could never succeed until it was changed with a long-term strategy in mind.
The executive coach said, "We need to have a fundamental transformation in our economy; we must get rid of this neo-liberal economy and start sitting down and working out a framework to create a shared prosperity.
If the present system persisted, he claimed, the nation would not be able to properly utilize its resources and advance its industrialization goal.
Mr. Dadzawa argued for raising the import charge from its current 0.75 percent to 25 percent so that the authority could reach its $60 million yearly budget goal.
We expect to earn $4.8 billion from exports this year, and we are convinced we can.
Mr. Dadzawa claimed that in spite of the severe financial difficulties his organization was facing, his organization gave away free coconut seedlings to farmers all over the nation valued at GH12.8 million in an effort to encourage non-traditional exports.
"Some of our major products, such cashew, peanuts, and coconut, will have more supply thanks to our new trade house facility in Kenya. Furthermore popular is the training of young businesspeople who will work on the manufacture and export of goods "Noted he.
In order to promote "Made in Ghana Items," he continued, his organization is thinking of opening additional trade offices in China, the United States, and South Africa.
He revealed that the Small and Medium Businesses (SME) sector is GEPA's largest constituency (SMEs). In order for them to market their products and advertise their samples, he said, "We take 50% of these SMEs to these international trade exhibitions and buy stands and booths for them for free."
Regarding Ghana's traditional exports, Mr. Dadzawa mentioned that his organization will host the first significant international craft trade show as a Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) on October 15 at Aburi in order to generate foreign exchange, promote tourism, and present Ghana's traditional exports to the world.
"Our trade performance has been growing by an average of roughly 5% to 7%, but between 2017 and 2019, it reached a plateau. Yet, processing cocoa yields 1.5 billion dollars in exports of items that are derivatives of the bean, compared to 300 million dollars for cashews. These two are our two main export items "He declared.
He emphasized that his organization is starting an initiative to advance the trade in aluminum and plastics on the continent and in the ECOWAS subregion.
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