Non-traditional exports-Burkina Faso a major destination

Story: Boahene Asamoah

BURKINA FASO has become a major destination for Ghana’s exports of non-traditional within the sub-region.
Figures from the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) indicate that the country exported a total of $77.1 million worth of goods to Burkina Faso in 2006, as compared to the $63.3 million, representing 21 per cent growth in the market share
Ghana’s exports to Nigeria stood at $67.6 million for 2006 which was 24.9 per cent growth of the 2005 figure of $54.2 million. Before 2005. Nigeria was the leading country in terms of exports of NTEs from Ghana.
Export products to Burkina Faso were primary household utensils, wood, plastics, salt and textile.
However, over the past two years, Nigeria placed a ban on goods from neighbouring countries hurting local exporters from Ghana.
According the Senior Export Development Officer of the GEPC, Mr Alex Dadzawa, who attributed the rise in the country’s exports to Burkina Faso to the observation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme.
He said this led to free flow of goods into the country without any taxes.
Ghana last year exported non-traditional exports to the tune of $893 million, representing a 14.8 per cent growth over the 2005 figure of $778 million. The target of $1 billion is however yet to be achieved.
According to figures from the GEPC, emerging economies accounted for 11.90 per cent of the country’s exports of NTEs, while other developed countries outside the EU also accounted for 11.07 per cent and other African countries constituted only 2.82 per cent.
The GEPC report indicated that during the periods of 2005 to 2006, all the markets recorded positive growth with the exception of the ECOWAS market that recorded a negative growth of -0.52 per cent.
The decline was as a result of the relative difficulty in accessing the Nigeria market even by companies with approval under the ETLS.
The EU market performance grew by 13.88 per cent while the markets in the other African countries, other developed countries, including emerging markets grew by 34 per cent, 33.55 per cent and 47.22 per cent respectively.
In 2006, Ghana’s single largest market for the NTEs was the United Kingdom which accounted for 12.12 per cent of total NTEs, worth $108.2 million, representing a decline of 4.6 per cent of the previous year’s figure of $113.5 million.
Cocoa paste veneer sheets, prepared tuna cocoa butter, plywood frozen tuna, shea nuts, cut fresh pineapples, other prepared fish and frozen fish, accounted for 51.7 per cent of total exports worth $461.7 million dollars.
Cocoa paste which is the highest earner contributed 10.71 per cent with a value of $95.6 million, representing 226 per cent increase over the 2005 figure of $29.3 million.
This was due to significant increase in the future prices for the product last year on the London futures market. Additionally, the increase was also partly due to expansion of Barry Callebaut Ghana Limited, a major exporter of cocoa paste.