“Trade has never been a zero-sum game. All that is required for it to flourish among nations is simply the basic market principle: a willing seller and a willing buyer, at an agreed price. There will always be barriers to trade, usually erected by governments. However, these barriers can be negotiated away without guns. Trade is a better way of helping all countries advance prosperity, particularly in the developing world, where currently, lifting millions out of poverty is non-negotiable and certainly cannot be achieved through aid’’ said Franklin Cudjoe, founding president and CEO of IMANI.
An important question after years of implementing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) is how trade, particularly export performance, has improved in Ghana over time. All things being equal, the end result of trade policy should be an increase in export performance, a positive balance of payment score and ultimately increased economic growth. This report highlights the trends and market share of selected export products, and discuss the key challenges they face.
Comparisons are made with trends in Côte d’Ivoire and in some cases with West African averages. Côte d’Ivoire is selected for comparison because not only does she trade along EPA, AGOA and ETLS trade routes, she also has similar characteristics as Ghana - both Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire export mainly agricultural products and are both lower middle income countries with per capita incomes (2016) of $1,380.00 and $1,520.00 respectively. The report further explores the market share of some selected export products -- gold; cocoa beans; coconuts, brazil nuts, and cashews; crude petroleum; and, sawn wood. A product destination analysis – an analysis of Ghana’s market share in the major export destinations, and the competition faced in those markets is also conducted.
The report also assesses the extent to which current government initiatives address the challenges and make recommendations that will help Ghana maximise her gains from FTAs to help her achieve upper-middle income status.
Below is the full report:
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