The Chief Executive Officer for the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA), Ms Benonita Bismarck has urged local shippers in Ghana to take full advantage of opportunities available with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to boost their export trade and mitigate the harsh effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic to reinvigorate their businesses.
According to the GSA Chief Executive, Covid-19 has taken a toll on global trade and businesses of shippers have suffered unbearable consequences. Therefore, she pledged the Ghana Shippers Authority’s resolve to continue to protect and promote the interest of shippers with timely relevant information dissemination and activities to enable shippers take informed decisions.
Addressing industry players on the AfCFTA last Thursday (October 28, 2021) in Tamale, Ms Benonita said it was appropriate that such a forum be held for the 3 traditional regions of the northern part of the country, to bring shippers up to speed with the AfCFTA, to enable them take advantage of the opportunities.
“The forum promises to be very educative as we have a revered resource person with vast knowledge and experience in the precepts of the AfCFTA as the facilitator. I am hopeful that at the end of this forum, we would all have gathered some extra knowledge and sharpened our skills in preparation towards taking advantage of the single market to foster Ghana’s effective realization of a fully integrated single African market as we host the secretariat”
In this regard, she urged the local exporters in particular to ensure value-addition in their products to enhance their competitiveness on the international market.
She observed the northern sector has produced lots of non-traditional exports to generate foreign exchange for the country. She added most of these products originating from the north are basically agrarian and reiterated her call for exporters to endeavor to add value to the various food crops from the area.
The gathering is part of many capacity building programs being organized by the Ghana Shippers Authority to senisitize shippers on developments on the international trading scene and to equip them to be more competitive on the international market.
These educational programs are central to the Authority’s mandate of protecting and promoting the interest of Ghanaian shippers in relation to international trade and transport logistics.
Single market
The theme for the forum: “AfCFTA: Opportunities and Procedures” according to the Ghana Shippers Authority Chief Executive was carefully selected to create awareness of the AfCFTA among importers and exporters, bring to light the opportunities the single market affords them, and to elicit the required procedures to access the market.
She emphasized the overall objective of this forum is to enable shippers to take advantage of the vast single market the Area provides.
The market Ms Benonita Bismarck indicated upon full realization is estimated to be populated by up to 1.3 billion persons, with a combined GDBP of US$3.4 trillion, making the AfCFTA the largest single market in the World.
“The implementation of the single market which took effect from January 2021 is indeed, a milestone towards the continent’s development and prosperity. It is worthy to note that whereas the European Union can boast of over 70% intra- European trade, intra-African trade is less than 11% of Africa’s total global trade” she affirmed.
Meanwhile, Mr Isaac Yesiah Ackweah, the Branch Manager for the Ghana Shippers Authority for his part noted the African market has become a big one with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and therefore the need to organize the workshop to equip both importers and exporters with the requisite knowledge to explore the available opportunities for them.
“Ghana is a member state of the AfCFTA and therefore all importers and exporters in Ghana have the right to access the market and so this forum is one; to educate and create awareness on the African Continental Free Trade Area and two; to let shippers – exporters and importers appreciate the step-by-step approach if you want to advantage over the market what do you have to do so that you can access the market” Mr Isaac highlighted.
