Ghana’s Trade and Industry minister, Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah, has criticized the practice where Chinese industrialists in Africa ship raw materials sourced locally back home to be processed into finished products.
The minister said it does not make economic sense for such industrialists to ship raw materials from countries such as Ghana to China, process them, and bring back the finished product for sale to consumers on the continent.
Addressing a 200-member Chinese delegation in Ghana for the China- Ghana investment forum and exhibition, he advised that it will be prudent for such companies to establish their factories on the continent.
“When we had the chance to visit your country and some of your factories, and even furniture shops and we ask some of your colleagues back in China where the wood is from, they tell you it is from Africa,” Dr. Spio-Garbrah said.
Making a case for such companies to relocate to Africa, the minister wondered “whether it is increasingly economical for you to import large quantities of raw materials from Africa, ship them several thousands of miles to China, convert them into finished products and to ship them back here for us to buy, or you would rather position machinery and equipment here in the form of factories to be closer to the market”.
Trade relations between Ghana and China have been growing steadily with volume of trade for the first quarter standing at $1.8 billion. This makes Ghana the 6th highest trade partner of China on the African continent.
Also, the value of China’s newly signed contracts in Ghana reached around $1.3 billion, making it the 14th most invested in that area by the Chinese.
The Ghana-China Business Forum is an initiative by the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Ghana to stimulate development and strengthen business relationships between the two countries.
By: Tawakalitu Braimah
