A scene during the launch of the fair
The 24th Ghana International Trade Fair was launched in Tamale on Thursday, with over 600 exhibitors showcasing assortment of products during the 10-day period.
The fair, which is themed: “Value Addition, Trading Globally”, aims at emphasizing value addition to production towards the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda of the President.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Trade Fair Company (GTFC), Dr. Agnes Adu, the theme presents a unique opportunity to showcase Ghana’s domestic market to all regional, local and international partners.
She admonished business owners to take advantage of the fair and scale up their companies to the next level. Continuing, she said business owners should tap into all the knowledge and services they can acquire from the fair and boost their businesses.
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Dr. Gyeile Nurah, on his part, stressed the need to add value to local produce, as this is a sure way of increasing from our earnings.
According to him, the theme would provide grounds to share ideas, discuss objectives and measures to be put in place to ensure efficient and also increase value and greater market access.
He urged government to increase the access of producers to market which would allow them to reliably sell more produce with better quality and at higher prices. Continuing, he said this would encourage them to invest in their own businesses.
The Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed, in his keynote address, reiterated the need for value addition, saying “if we do not add value to our products, we cannot market them on the international market”.
He said value addition was necessary to ensure there were higher returns for local produce.
Besides, he urged chiefs to support the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ initiative by collaborating with the government to ensure there is value addition on products that are produced in their communities.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale