Producers of moringa, shea, cocoa, dried fruits, coconut, chocolate, natural cosmetics and organic oils are heading south from Ghana’s burgeoning organic sector seeking to build on their existing export business.
Eleven companies will form the backbone of Ghana’s campaign to capture new orders with South African, regional and international buyers who have registered to attend the first Organic and Natural Products Expo Africa exhibition, which takes place from 21 to 23 October in Johannesburg.
Chief executive officer of Ghana’s Export Promotion Authority, Dr Afua Asabea Asare, will head up its National Pavilion at the show. “The prospects for Ghana’s exporters in this sector are riding high, subsequent to the Covid-19 pandemic. A healthy lifestyle and concern for the environment are now considered a must for a growing proportion of the current generation,” says Dr Asare.
Among the features at the Ghana Pavilion will be Ghana Dayon Saturday 22 October 2022, when the nation’s head of mission and his trade attaché in Pretoria will be guests of honour during a series of activities in celebration of Ghana’s rich cultural heritage – with its strikingly colourful national dress worn by exhibitors, indigenous cuisine and traditional highlife music.
Zachariah Mathew, head of sourcing and logistics at Johannesburg-based Kupanda African Natural Botanicals, says: “We are excited to be in discussions with Ghanaian suppliers of baobab and moringa seeds. I will be expecting some positive feedback from exhibitors within the Ghana Pavilion for a potential order.”
Meanwhile, several women entrepreneurs from Ghana are expected to participate in talks and presentations scheduled for the opening two days of the exhibition. Amongst them is likely to be Accra-based Elaine Stanley-Owusu of Mikaes Natural Skincare, who started her business after curing her daughter of a skin allergy using a homemade, traditional shea-based therapy.
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