President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that his administration, through the Accelerated Export Development Programme (AEDP), is implementing an ambitious strategy to significantly boost Ghana’s export competitiveness under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Delivering a national address on Wednesday, May 7, to mark his first 120 days in office, the President stated that the AEDP aims to triple the number of Ghanaian firms certified under AfCFTA’s Rules of Origin, scale up export readiness training, particularly for youth and women, and expand the country’s reach into new continental markets while deepening existing trade partnerships.
Currently, an estimated 30 Ghanaian firms are actively exporting under the AfCFTA framework, with 14 companies involved in 40 trades under the Guided Trade Initiative. In addition, the Government has facilitated market exploratory missions for 63 local firms to other African countries, further demonstrating Ghana’s readiness to capitalise on intra-African trade opportunities.
“The AfCFTA presents an unprecedented opportunity to position Ghana as a regional manufacturing and export hub,” President Mahama noted, adding that targeted reforms are essential to unlock the full potential of the country’s export sector.
Despite the promising outlook, the President acknowledged significant structural and operational challenges undermining Ghana’s trade potential. These include burdensome documentation requirements, inefficiencies at the country’s ports, and regulatory bottlenecks stemming from under-resourced state institutions.
Data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) indicates that these trade facilitation inefficiencies result in an estimated $4.3 billion in annual losses to Ghana’s economy.
Credit: norvanreports
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