by Justice Lee Adoboe
ACCRA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- A Ghanaian foreign trade leader has hailed China's zero-tariff treatment as a crucial opportunity for African countries.
Samson Asaki Awingobit, executive secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, told Xinhua that the zero-tariff offer is something Ghanaian exporters have desired for a long time.
"This offer is excellent news from China, giving us tariff-free market access," said Awingobit.
For the country to realize the full benefits, Awingobit said that Ghana needs to develop deliberate strategies to enhance export competitiveness so that Ghanaian traders, small-scale and large-scale manufacturers, and agricultural producers can access the Chinese market with meaningful export returns to the country.
"We would like to see more of our exports going into the Chinese market, and so now that they have given us zero tariffs, we need as a country to engage among ourselves and seek an understanding of the Chinese market to know which of our products are in high demand," he stressed.
With a firm knowledge of product lines in high demand in the Chinese market, Awingobit said Ghanaians could also develop what they can produce with a comparative advantage to satisfy those demands.
Moreover, he said that understanding the demands in the Chinese market and their consumer behavior would enable Ghana to adopt a regional approach to meeting these identified needs.
"We need to understand the specific needs of each province and identify the strengths and comparative advantages of different regions in Ghana so that we can build capacity and educate traders on how to leverage this new opportunity," he stressed.
According to Awingobit, Ghanaians appreciate the new trade relationship with China, and "that must translate into tangible benefits and transformations in the economy and in the lives of the people."
With the size of the Chinese market and the right strategies, he called for efforts to "do more volumes because the Chinese market is huge."
Even if a province is going to purchase from Ghana, Awingobit believed, that represents a significant demand, and it is time for Ghana to work hard toward meeting the demands.
In May, China expanded its zero-tariff treatment to cover all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties.
China is Ghana's largest trading partner, as bilateral trade grew by 19.3 percent year on year to 14.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, according to the Chinese Embassy to Ghana. ■
