The Ghana Export Promotion Council An autonomous body set up in 1969, the Ghana Export Promotion Council gives impetus to exports from Ghana. The Council works under the aegis of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and is the central institution in the country that works towards promotion and development of non-traditional exports from the country. Why was the Council Established? In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ghanaian and foreign economists felt that Ghana was too dependent on cocoa export and some other traditional exports. If the country continued being a mono-crop economy, its economy would not flourish or keep pace with the global trends. So, to help spur the country’s economy and help it meet the changing global trends, The Ghana Export Promotion Council was established. The feeling was that the Council would alter the country’s export fortunes, as it would be supporting primarily small businesses that operated mostly outside the ambit of Ghana’s formal economy. The Council’s Objectives and Scope of Activities
The main objective of the Export Promotion
Council is to ensure that export trade plays a role in aiding
economic growth of the country. The Council concentrates on
marketing non-conventional products using some strategic and
aggressive marketing. General Service The Council has an excellent library that has many useful books and resources, which can educate exporters about export products, different marketing systems, methods of marketing, packaging details, quality control and viable export markets. The library also contains foreign publications on export trade. In fact, businessmen coming from abroad also call upon the Council, as it is an extremely reliable source to gather information about different businesses in Ghana and the overall business climate in the country. Advisory Service The Council has highly trained and skilled counsels, who can offer advisory services on a wide ranging issues related to export and marketing. These include product development, packaging, shipping, pricing, travel, and handling and preserving products. The Council’s advisory service helps Ghanaian exporters effectively penetrate overseas markets. If you need a week's car insurance cover you can buy 7 days car insurance in the UK!
Registration and Incentives to Exporters
The Council is the institute in the country
where commercial exporters have to register themselves. This
registration not only helps the Council to keep its records
up-to-date on the different exporters in Ghana, it also allows
the Council to match exporters to interested overseas buyers,
recommend incentives for exporters, and monitor performance of
exporters, so that they can get access to schemes and awards
that the Council routinely offers. Export Market Development One of the Council’s main roles is to help the Ghanaian exporters find overseas buyers. This Council expects to accomplish this goal by using the country’s missions in abroad, foreign missions located within Ghana and the trade organisations around the world. Facilitating Trade The Export Promotion Council makes the entire process of trading quite easy and convenient for the business parties involved by liaising with other agencies, such as Customs, Excise, freight carriers, Insurers, Bank of Ghana, and the Ports and Harbour Authority in the country to simplify several documentation and export procedures. Copyright gepcghana.com 2010 All Rights Reserved |