BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – With the help of Export Barbados (BIDC), over USD $20,000 worth of products from six local manufacturers are being shipped to Ghana as the first step in cementing commercial ties with that West African nation and the wider African continent.
Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology Davidson Ishmael locks off the container of items produced in Barbados which are being shipped to Ghana.The products, including Bajan 1966 Rum, Cockspur Rum, Barbados Reserve Brown Sugar, Claytons Kola Tonic, Trowel Plastic, shortening, margarine, soybean oil, and dog food, along with promotional material, will be shipped out to Ghana from the island on Friday.
Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, the Honorable Davidson Ishmael, described the event as “historic”, noting that it signifies the reconnection of the ties between Barbados and the Motherland.
He said Ghanaians would be exposed to some of the high-quality products synonymous with Barbados.
“We’re glad that we can now ship this container, which is valued at about US$20,000-plus, which is a combination of about US$18,000 in actual purchases from persons in Ghana, and another US$2,500 in samples that we’re hoping would be able to entice more persons in Ghana to be able to purchase more of our products. So it’s a tremendous opportunity to re-establish this link,” he said.
“We’re starting in Ghana, but we’re hoping that we can then go further afield, all throughout the continent of Africa, because there’s significant demand for our products no matter where we go… So we want to encourage local producers to see Africa as an open playing field for them, an open market for them to be able to see how they can get their products and services onto the continent of Africa.”
Ishmael lauded Export Barbados and Barbados’ High Commission to Ghana, which worked in tandem to make the container consolidation a reality.
He is confident that this shipment will be the first of many, as he noted that consumer spending by African consumers and businesses is expected to reach US$6.66 trillion by 2030.
“There is still much more ground to cover in Africa. When we think of Africa we have a population of 1.7 billion that is projected by 2030; 1.7 billion people on the continent of Africa alone. That is a huge market. We, therefore, need to see how we can expand our horizons to embrace that market… We expect that the relationship will be mutually beneficial, where they will be able to gain from our technical expertise and our highly skilled and highly qualified human resources as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senior Business Development Officer with Export Barbados Modou Diagne spoke highly of the work of the Barbados High Commission to Ghana for helping to facilitate the building of relationships with trade partners and securing the first orders from Ghana.
“Export Barbados (BIDC) was then able to organize the shipment and act as the shipper. So this is basically a new role that Export Barbados (BIDC) is taking on, the role of an export platform. We facilitated and consolidated the products from different companies who are not necessarily able to export a whole container on their own. I am certain that this is the first and not the last of many to come. We are going to continue the effort and now that we have put in place the blueprint, it is much easier and we are hoping that in the next one or two months, the next container will go,” Diagne stated.
