 1- WHO ARE WE?
The Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) is an autonomous body established by NLC Decree 396 of 1969. It is the national focal point institution for export development and promotion, working under the aegis of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Manned by a well-trained professional staff, the Council is an authority on the export of products in the non-traditional sector.
The contribution of the Council towards the development of this sector is significant.
2- WHAT DO WE DO?
The Council's goal is to ensure that the national export diversification and promotion drive succeeds. In pursuing this goal, the Council engages in an extensive scope of activities:
# developing national export awareness;
# identifying products with export potential and locating markets for them;
# creating goodwill for Ghanaian products through overseas and local trade fairs and exhibitions;
# providing exporters with the necessary assistance for penetrating the competitive international market;
# organizing market missions to enable Ghanaian exporters meet prospective overseas buyers;
# assisting businessmen travelling abroad with information on the target markets;
# providing advice on export marketing to exporters;
# training exporters and personnel of export facilitating institutions upgrade their skills in export marketing;
# recommending to Government the necessary assistance and incentives needed by the Ghanaian exporter.
3- OVERVIEW OF THE GHANAIAN TRADITIONAL EXPORTS
 3-1 TRADE
| (US$ millions) | 1987 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | | Total exports (Fob): | 824 | 1,810 | 2,091 | 1,962 | | Cocoa | 495 | 580 | 688 | 542 | | Timber | 91 | 172 | 170 | 174 | | Total imports (Cif): | 1,009 | 3,324 | 3,167 | 3,473 | | Fuel and energy | 145 | 240 | 202 | 306 |
3-2 DEFINITION OF NON-TRADITIONAL EXPORT PRODUCTS
The Export and import Act 503 has defined non-traditional export as follows:
1. Agricultural products, except Cocoa beans
2. Timber products other than: (a) Logs (b) Lumber
3. Unprocessed gold and other minerals
4. Electricity
This definition is to facilitate and rationalise national accounting, and to mobilize the direction of resource support to the sector
3-3 OVERVIEW OF THE GHANAIAN NON TRADITIONAL EXPORTS
| GHANA'S NON-TRADITIONAL EXPORTS 1999 | | ITEMS | QUANTITY (M/T) | VALUE ($M) | % SHARE | | Handicrafts | 6 387 | 576,06 | 1,59 | | Robusta Coffee | 8 253 | 260,35 | 2,05 | | Fresh Pineapples | 8 769 | 405,15 | 2,18 | | Coca Liquor | 11 893 | 170,20 | 2,96 | | Aluminium Products | 12 188 | 381,86 | 3,03 | | Plywood | 13 838 | 584,55 | 3,44 | | Palm Oil | 19 667 | 096,68 | 4,90 | | Fish and Marine Produce | 21 021 | 449,02 | 5,23 | | Builders Woodwork | 22 147 | 302,02 | 5,51 | | Sliced Veneer | 27 570 | 047,28 | 6,86 | | Cocoa Butter | 57 003 | 995,23 | 14,19 | | Canned/Tuna Lions | 77 283 | 090,58 | 19,24 | | Others | 115686 | 973,65 | 20,82 |
HOW WE DO IT
General Information Service
The Council's well-stocked library is a veritable source of useful information on exports products, markets, marketing systems and mechanisms, quality requirements and packaging. It is open to the public on all working days. The library scans publications received from abroad and culls relevant information for dissemination to exporters. The library together with the Public Relations unit constitute the first port of call for visiting clientele of the Council from where they are directed to an appropriate technical staff for assistance, if necessary.
Foreign businessmen find through the Council a very reliable source of business information on Ghana.
Advisory Service
Our professional staff counsels exporters on a wide range of issues including products development, adaptation, handling, preservation, packaging, pricing and shipping which, in totality, ensure effective market penetration.
Market Development
The Council assists exporters to locate foreign buyers for their products, using well-established channels such as the General Missions and Trade Commissioners abroad, Foreign Missions in Ghana and Trade Promotion Organisations worldwide.
Trade Facilitation
In order to make the process of exporting easier for non-traditional exporters, the Council closely works with all export-related agencies in Ghana to streamline procedures and documentation. Some of these agencies are the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Bank of Ghana, Customs Excise and Preventive Service, Internal Revenue Service, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and Freight carriers.
PERFORMANCE OF NON-TRADITIONAL EXPORTS
| YEAR | US$ MILLIONS | | *1990 | 62,34 | | *1991 | 62,55 | | *1992 | 68,42 | | *1993 | 71,70 | | *1994 | 119,31 | | *1995 | 159,67 | | *1996 | 276,24 | | *1997 | 329,06 | | *1998 | 401,70 | | *1999 | 404,41 | | *2000 | 400,00 | | Source: GEPC |
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Export Incentive Schemes
The Council, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Trade & Industry, plays a crucial role in the establishment of incentives schemes for exporters, some of which are as follows:
# an Export Proceeds Retention Scheme in operation allows exporters to exchange all (i.e 100%) foreign exchange proceeds from non-traditional exports into cedis at competitive rates negotiated with the exporters ' bankers
# a Corporate Tax Rebate which allows any manufacturer or any person engaged in agricultural production, exporting part of all of his production, to claim tax rebate between 40% and 75% of his tax liability.
. a Custom Duty Drawback that allows exporters to draw back to 100% of duties paid on material imported to produce goods for exports.
. a Bonded Warehousing that allows manufactures to seek Customs licence to hold imported raw materials intended for manufacturing for export in secured places without payment of duty.
. Up-Front Duty Exemption that operates alongside the duty drawback system enables exporters to enjoy 100% duty exemption on imports intended to be allocated into export production.
Export Financing
In 1990, based on a government initiative, the Export Finance Company (EFC) was established to streamline and institute a comprehensive export-financing scheme. At present, EFC operates pre- and post-shipment credit schemes. It is, however, expected to cater for all the components and aspects of the chain of activities related to exports from production to shipment through the following schemes:
• Export Credit Guarantee
• Export Insurance
• Export Refinance
• Direct Export Financing.
National Award for Export Achievement
This is an annual national event held to recognise exporters for their contribution to the economic well being of the nation. Since its introduction in 1989, the event has become a powerful incentive in the non- traditional export sector.
The main objectives of this scheme are:
- to formally recognise the contribution of exporters in the non-traditional sector to the economic prosperity of Ghana;
- to commend exporters for exporting quality products;
- to encourage higher levels of performance by exporters;
- to raise the export consciousness among the Ghanaian business community.
Exporters' Education
The Council acknowledges the critical importance of training as a tool for enhancing the capabilities of the exporting community. The Council has therefore established the Export school to develop training programmes covering production, processing, marketing, packaging, procedures and documentation and all other aspects of the export trade. The training programmes are delivered through seminars and workshops using both local and foreign experts as resource personnel. In recent times, the council has collaborated with private sector training institutions in upgrading the skills of the exporter community.
Exporters' Forum
the institution of an Exporters&# 8217; Forum in 1987 preceded the establishment of the Export School. The Forum is held periodically and serves a dual purpose of finding on-the-spot solutions to problems of exporters and educating them on export related policies.
Registration of Exporters
The Ghana Export Promotion Council registers commercial exporters in the country and the objectives of the registration exercise are as follows:
# to build a database that will facilitate the collection of up-to-date information on exports and exporters for the provision of appropriate assistance programmes (both national and international) for export companies;
. to bring together exporters, foreign buyers and other business interests;
. to monitor the performance of exporters for purposes of export support schemes, awards and selection and recommendation for other enhanced facilities/ incentives provided by GEPC and other export- related institutions;
# to give due regard to recognisable and reliable export companies to be carried in national export drive programmes;
# to provide the basis for strengthening private sector product associations.
4- ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
A Chairman and 12 other members constitute the governing body of the Council. A Secretariat headed by an Executive Secretary is responsible for the day to day running of the affairs of the GEPC. The legal and internal audit units operate under the, office of the Executive Secretary. Operationally, there are four divisions each supervised by a Director. Under the divisions are departments performing specific duties towards the attainment of the Council's stated objectives.
These are:
4-1 General Information Division
Departments
Trade Information Data Processing.
4-2 Planning& Research Division
Departments
Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation Project Management Policy Analysis
4-3 General Promotion Division
Departments
Manufactures Agriculture Handicrafts
Zone Offices
4. Finance and Administration Division
Departments
Administration
Finance
Training
HOW IS THE COUNCIL FUNDED?
Being a Government agency, the Council is funded through annual budgetary allocation. This covers operational expenditures for the council's recurrent and capital expenditures and work programmes. The Council also receives external assistance through bilateral and multilateral agreements from organizations such as UNDP, EU, USAID, IDA, and government of Norway acting through the International Trade Centre (ITC), UNCTAD/ GATT and the Commonwealth Secretariat |
