Ghana now exports yams, cassava, gari, bananas, plantain, pineapples, citrus, coffee, wheat bran, cocoa shell, waste cocoa beans, shea nuts, textiles, ceramics, handicrafts and charcoal under the Non-Traditional Export (NTE) drive that started in 1994.
Figures made available to the Ghana News Agency by Mr. Castro Kumi Adjei-Sam, Export Manager of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) showed that NTE which was on a small scale started increasing in 1992 and 1993 when 145,288 metric tonnes were exported.
Between 1994 and 1999, a total of 933,309 metric tonnes were exported but revenue generated was not immediately available.
However, in the year 2000, with 4,725 ship trips made at the Tema Port, 250, 268 metric tonnes of products were exported to earn350 million dollars.
Between January and September 2001, the frequency of shipment was 4,741, and 242,866 metric tonnes of the products were expected to yield 250 million dollars.
These non-traditional products were consigned to Belgium, Denmark, India, United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Holland, Greece, Italy, Brazil, Australia, Russia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Netherlands among other places.
From all indications Africans living abroad patronise the foodstuffs since they do not want to be cut off from their roots, or they relish their traditional food.
Ghana's non-traditional products are also exported to a number of African countries including Nigeria, Sierra-Leone, South Africa, Liberia, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, the Gambia and Kenya.
Mr. Adjjei-Sam said 90 per cent of non-traditional products are exported through the Port of Tema and the remaining 10 per cent through the Kotoka International Airport, adding that nationwide, export made in 2000 and 2001 was estimated at 750 million dollars.
Twelve major products are frequently exported - fresh pineapples, frozen fish, timber products, canned tuna, cocoa products, shea nuts and fresh banana.
The rest are cottonseed, fresh yam, raw cotton, aluminum products and raw coffee.
Mr. Adjei-Sam said in 2000, a total of 202,933 metric tonnes of these high patronage products were exported, while 186,368 metric tonnes were sent out in 2001.
To meet the expansion of the NTE, the GPHA in 1994, converted shed nine at the main harbour for non-traditional exports and it has since been named the "Export Shed" which has a storage capacity of between 8,000 and 9,000 metric tonnes.Though the shed is not air-conditioned, the products do not go bad because they are normally brought in to coincide with the arrival of the ships, which turn around soon after lading. As food items are stored in the shed, cleanliness is strictly observed to ensure that nothing gets contaminated before shipment. For this reason the items are parked orderly according to the type of foodstuff or items.
While it is desirable to sustain the NTE because it generates foreign exchange and employment and enables Africans in the Diaspora to maintain their roots, sight should not be lost of the periodic food shortages experienced in the country as result of the export of large consignments of foodstuffs.
The NTE is now complementing cocoa and gold as major export earners and announcing the arrival of Ghana at the market of the "Global Village".
