The Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Oheneba Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei has launched the 2022 Non Traditional Export Statistics in Accra.
According to her, she was delighted to see that, the non traditional exports have continued to show resilience in the face of the global economic challenges.
Addressing Journalists in Accra on Wednesday, she said "As the Deputy Minister responsible for International Trade, I am particularly pleased with the outcome of the 2022 Non Traditional Export Statistics as it is a testament to the relentless work put in by every individual along the export value chain"
"We have often emphasised the importance and contributions of Ghana Non Traditional Export sector to the Ghanaian economy and while this sounds like a broken record, it cannot be dismissed"
Explaining further, she hinted the report on the offered analysis aims to inform the populace of the critical trends and patterns in the sector.
She also noted that the report highlights the growth of the Non Traditional Export with a considerable increase in exports volume over the previous years.
"This indicates that the efforts to promote the NTE through the government's numerous initiatives and interventions are achieving the objectives"
She noted that the Non Traditional Export sector has been a key driver of Ghana's economic growth, providing much foreign exchange earnings and providing employments opportunities for the citizenry.
The Deputy Minister also mentioned that the NTE has contributed significantly to Ghana's overall export earnings accounting for over 20.22% total exports in the past year.
"It is refreshing to note that the NTE sector will catalyse and consolidate the gains of the initiatives such as the 1D1F programme, promote product development and market access opportunities for products of these factories, address supply side constraints and improve the competitiveness of goods and services produced"
The Deputy Minister who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akropong Constituency stressed that the report will provide valuable insight into the performance of the NTE in 2022.
"The NTEs increased by 6%, or USD3,531,048,234 over the previous year and accounted for over 20.22% of total export earnings over the same period"
"It is no doubt that the implementation of the NEDS by GEPA and relevant stakeholders contributed to this positive growth and if we maintain our resilience and hard work, accomplishing the strategy's aim in the next ten years will be a walk in a park,”
Taking her turn, the Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) of Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Dr. Afua Asabea Asare told Journalists that the NTEs, which encompass a range of diversified products recorded earnings amounting to US$3,531,048,234 in 2022, compared to US$3,330,317,588 in the previous year.
She also mentioned that the growth has been attributed to a combination of structural changes within Ghana's NTE ecosystem and the effective implementation of the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS).
"We are delighted to report a 6% increase in Ghana's Non-Traditional Export earnings for 2022. This positive trend can be attributed to the successful implementation of the National Export Development Strategy and the strategic changes made within our NTE ecosystem"
"The implementation of the NEDS played a crucial role in facilitating the growth of the NTE sector. The strategy focused on enhancing market access, improving product quality and standards, promoting value addition, and exploring emerging markets. These initiatives have led to an overall strengthening of Ghana's NTE sector and a diversification of its export offerings"
She cited cocoa paste, cashew nuts, cocoa butter, iron and steel circles, rods, sheets, billets, articles of plastics, aluminium plates, sheets and coils, canned tuna, natural rubber sheets, cocoa powder, and shea oil as part of the top ten NTE products for 2022.
Dr. Asabea revealed that Ghana's cocoa paste emerged as the highest earner, contributing US$520.3 million, followed by cashew nuts with US$294.2 million.
She, however, hinted that shea oil ranked as the lowest earner with US$92.6 million.
"The ECOWAS market remained the leading destination, accounting for 34.59% of the total market, followed closely by the EU & UK markets, contributing 31.90%"
She also disclosed that Burkina Faso came out as the leading market destination for Ghana's NTEs, with a consumption value of US$425.01 million, representing a 16% increase from the previous year.
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith
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