The Herald
Business Reporter
National trade development and promotion organisation, ZimTrade, is organising an outward seller mission to Ghana to enhance linkages between Zimbabwean companies and buyers in the west-African country.
Scheduled for March 27-29, the mission complements ongoing economic diplomacy efforts by the Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, where the focus is on unlocking economic benefits from Zimbabwe’s stellar relations with countries on the African continent and beyond.
During the mission, Zimbabwean businesses will engage potential partners in Ghana, including leading buyers who are expected to take local products across the Ghanaian market and other neighboring west-Africa countries.
ZimTrade chief executive, Allan Majuru, said the mission was expected to improve the visibility of Zimbabwean products in non-traditional markets.
“We have taken the cue from current efforts by the Government to unlock economic value from non-traditional markets where we already have good political relations.
“The focus on Ghana is also in line with the National Export Strategy, which seeks to grow Zimbabwe’s exports to non-traditional markets,” he said.
Mr Majuru added that the mission would also explore options to use Ghana as a gateway into the rest of the west-African region.
“For Ghana, we are planning to use the market as a springboard to land local products to the rest of west-Africa.
“Indications are that leading buyers in the market are already familiar with Zimbabwean products, which they say are of high quality,” he said.
The scheduled mission follows a market survey conducted by ZimTrade last year, where vast opportunities for Zimbabwean businesses were identified in sectors such as processed foods, agriculture inputs and implements, and leather and leather products.
Ghana has established itself as a prime destination for tourism, manufacturing and agro-processing, and together with Nigeria, these markets constitute some of the leading economies in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Ghana is a net importer of fast-moving consumer goods, consisting largely of processed food items. Currently, the market share in the retail sector in Ghana is 70 percent multinationals, and 30 percent local brands, as revealed by most retail businesses in Ghana.
At a glance, ZimTrade’s survey of the market showed that most of the products on the shelves are imported mainly from Europe, United Kingdom, United States, and Dubai.
Some of the African supplying markets include South Africa.
Considering Zimbabwe’s proximity to the market, there is room to increase the penetration of local products in the market, if companies come up with competitive logistics routes that will land products cheaper.
There are opportunities for Zimbabwean companies to supply products such as biscuits, sweets, cordials and cereals and dairy products through distributors or to establish warehouse facilities.
Further to this, the building and construction sector in Ghana is a growing industry and contributes substantially to the gross domestic product (GDP) and employment within the Ghanaian economy.
This growth has been buoyed by the discovery of oil in commercial proportions in 2007, which has led to significant development for the sector.
Generally, opportunities in the construction sector are concentrated in the creation, repair, maintenance, alteration, and demolition of buildings, highways, streets, bridges, roads, sewers, railways, and communication systems.
Relevant construction sub-sectors with potential in Ghana include housing and urban development (residential buildings; municipal and commercial buildings), infrastructure (water and sanitation; energy), and transport infrastructure (roads; airports; ports and harbours).
In Ghana, agriculture is the largest source of employment, with growth in the sector being responsible for much of the country’s poverty reduction.
Agriculture inputs and implements such as seeds, chemicals and small equipment are some of the gaps that Zimbabwean companies can target.
There is also room to supply services in the agriculture sector.
Further export opportunities for Zimbabwean companies are in the leather and leather products sector.
There are no tanneries or large industries in the leather sector with most of the businesses in the hands of artisanal players.
The industry imports most of its leather, mainly from Italy and to a smaller extent from neighbouring Burkina Faso.
Leather soles and other accessories are also imported from Italy as well as from China.
Considering these opportunities, the major consideration for Zimbabwean companies aspiring to do business with Ghanaian entities is the mode and cost of logistics for transporting goods to the destination.
This has a substantial bearing on the cost of the final price of the product in the market to determine its competitiveness.
The distance between Zimbabwe and Ghana provides limited options for land transportation of goods, hence sea and air freight remain as the more feasible options.
In terms of logistics, Ghana is host to Sea Ports which are critical to trade, apart from international trade, these ports also deal with the transshipment of cargo to and from nations in the north such as Burkina Faso.
The ports have seen much development such as the Golden Jubilee terminal is a newly opened facility at the port of Tema.
Over 85 percent of Ghana’s trade is done through the ports (Tema and Takoradi) with shipping routes and vessel calls to and from all continents through both direct and transshipment services.
Given the distance between the two countries, it is critical that Zimbabwean exporters explore the most effective route to reach the Ghanaian market.
On average, the cost of shipping dry goods from Zimbabwe to Tema through Beira port is US$5 000 for a 40-foot container though this figure had increased about US$7 500 due to Covid-19.
There is also the option of goods going via the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia where there is a dry port facility that Zimbabwe established in the country.
The Walvis Bay Fry Port facility provides a safe, faster, cheaper route for Zimbabwean exporters of finished products to Ghana.
Through this facility, Zimbabwean companies are also able to easily access markets in Central, West, and North Africa.
