Ghana’s Non-Traditional Exports (NTE) saw an impressive growth of 11.75% in 2023, raising its share of the nation’s overall exports to 24%, as announced by Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA).
This growth translated to approximately $447 million in additional export revenue.
During her presentation at the Sunday edition of the Minister’s biweekly briefings organized by the Ministry of Information in Accra, Dr. Asare noted that the leading NTEs experienced a remarkable 78% increase between 2022 and 2023, with exports reaching around 156 countries.
She highlighted that this marked the first time the country’s NTEs had achieved such significant and exponential growth, calling it an unprecedented milestone in the authority’s history.
“As I’m talking to you, we have grown exports. For 2023, we grew exports to 11.75 per cent and contribution to the overall national export is about 24 per cent and this has been brought about by a number of interventions,” she emphasised.
Dr Asare said GEPA was focused on four major sectors including agribusiness, manufacturing, arts and crafts, and services, adding that “There was a time when we particularly didn’t focus on services, but for some years now, it’s become one of our exports.”
She said GEPA had over 3,000 registered exporters and over 400 different non-traditional export products.
Some of the agencies her outfit was in collaboration in achieving the recent success were the Ghana Export-Import Bank, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Ghana Enterprises Agency, the Ghana Free Zones Authority, and some private organisations like the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), and the Federation of Association of Ghanaian Exporters.
“All of these organisations are working with GEPA hand-in-hand to grow the exports of the country. The number one NTE earner, that is the non-traditional export earner, the highest earner comes from iron, steel circles, iron rods, and sheet billets,” she said.
Dr Asare said even though the country had about 625 exportable products as part of the national export development strategy, 17 of these products had been prioritised.
She said the GEPA Impact Hub which had been established was a one-stop home for everything needed, be it information, technology, understanding how to export or meeting the organisations that collaborated with GEPA like the Standards Authority, the Food and Drugs Authority, or the Ministry of Agriculture.
“If you come to the GEPA Market Hub, you will meet all of these organisations there, as well as the support we give you by way of information,” she said.
She said GEPA had established a library, stressing we have an IT resource centre for you to use to achieve all that you want to achieve, and that is the GEPA Impact Hub.”