Stakeholders in the packaging industry have called on government to facilitate the creation of a world class packaging industry in Ghana.
According to them, packaging can help Ghanaian exports compete with other products from across the world.
Speaking to Citi Business News on the sidelines of the workshop, Frederic Couty, Senior Advisor on Packaging at the International Trade Centre called for a paradigm shift in the way women and exporters in general view packaging.
“First packaging is no longer seen as a cost. Rather businesses must see it as an investment. When we think of packaging it goes beyond packaging materials, it’s also about printing machinery, equipment, knowledge. Businesses need to invest in all the above, to ensure that they reach a high level of quality which the customers will appreciate,” he said
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), more than 600,000 women in Northern Ghana depend on incomes from the sales of shea butter and other shea-related products as a means of their daily sustenance.
In addition to its importance as a key income source for rural women, shea butter production can significantly contribute to increasing the possibility of the income generated, being used, for improvement of living standards of local women and their households.
For some of the participants at the training program government will have to put in measures to make quality packaging available for them in order to ensure that their products compete favorably on the international market.
Reacting to the call of the local shea exporters Madam Afua Asabea Asare, the CEO of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority stressed on government’s multi-stakeholder approach to building a strong packaging eco-system in Ghana.
Background
The role of packaging in attracting potential consumer’s as well as providing relevant information on why a consumer should purchase a product cannot be overemphasized.
Even though the standard of packaging for Ghanaian products for internal consumption as well as the international market have improved in recent times, there’s a still a long way to go for Ghanaian products to compete with the best products on shelves around the world in terms of packaging.
In an attempt to equip some Ghanaian women involved in the shea industry with the best packaging methods, the International Trade Centre in collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority have organized a coaching workshop for these women.
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By: Bobbie Osei/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana