Spotlight on bags and butter

Ghanaians put best foot forward at trade and investment fair

Ghana is committed to balancing its trade with China and showed it by getting 20 traders to exhibit a wide range of non-traditional export commodities at a fair in Xiamen, Fujian province.

Trade between the two countries was worth $5.4 billion in 2012, with the scales tilted in favor of China, which exports heavy machinery among others commodities to Ghana.

At the recent week-long International Fair for Investment and Trade in Xiamen, commodities exhibited included bags, baskets, shea butter, drums, hair and skin creams, handicrafts, hats, honey, medicinal plants and seeds, sandals, spices, textiles and woodcrafts.

The fair is one of many international events that promote bilateral investment with China. It showcases investment policies, projects and corporate products in all the Chinese provinces, and attracts investment promotion agencies from around the world.

This year, exhibitors and officials from more than 100 countries attended the fair, which also include seminars, forums and the signing of trade and investment agreements.

Representing Ghana were Murtala Mohammed, deputy minister of trade and industry, and Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo, the greater Accra regional minister.

Several Ghanaian exhibitors said they were happy with the attention their products had attracted and are keen to attend other similar fairs in China.

They praised the Ghana Export Promotion Authority for giving them the chance to exhibit their products and trade with their Chinese counterparts.

"I give the GEPA a thumbs up," said Ahmed Tackie Obili, a handicrafts dealer. "Business is good here."

Eunice Odeki Obuobi, owner of Odeki Ghana Enterprise, which deals in assorted non-traditional commodities, said her products were doing well since she opened shop in China last year, and her company's sales had improved 70 percent ever since.

She cautioned against selling anything that was fake or inferior, thus damaging sellers' credibility.

"Chinese believe that whatever comes from Africa is organic. We must therefore maintain the originality of our products."

Francisca Opoku of Solution Oasis in Accra, which makes products using shea or cocoa butter, urged African traders at such international fairs to always present the very best wares, "and represent Ghana and Africa well to outsiders". Making huge profits simply by selling inferior goods would do a disservice to those trying to sell Ghanaian-made goods overseas, she said.

One Ghanaian stand that caught the attention of many buyers was that of Bilafrick Enterprise, where raw shea butter was being sold.

Hajia Mariam Billa, with a Chinese interpreter at her side, dished out samples of shea butter from a big calabash to visitors.

"It's selling very well, and I hope everything will be sold out," she said. "Chinese are very interested in shea butter."

Most exhibitors said Chinese had expressed interest in distributing their products.

Murtala Mohammed, Ghana's deputy minister of trade and industry, said China is a giant among developing countries, and Ghana will continue to collaborate with it.

A concerted effort is being made to ensure this collaboration leads to businesses being set up in Ghana that give it more scope for exports and that create jobs, particularly for the young, he said.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/19/2014 page13)