By Tinuade Adeshiyan
A Ghanaian diplomat, Mr Sintim Asare-Barimah, on Tuesday pleaded with the Nigerian government to put policies in place to facilitate the acceptance of more Ghanaian goods in Nigeria.
Asare-Barimah said in Lagos that goods made in Ghana were not being accepted in Nigeria as they should.
He said that the development had tilted trade relationships between Nigeria and Ghana in favour of the former over the years.
Asare-Barimah, who is the Head of Trade and Investment Department in the Ghana Consulate in Lagos, said that many goods made in Ghana were hardly allowed into Nigeria.
The envoy said that many Nigerian businesses had been operating in Ghana but that on the other hand, Ghana had limited businesses running in Nigeria.
Asare-Barimah lamented that Ghanaians had been unable to export many goods to Nigeria because most Ghanaian goods fell into prohibition lists, making it impossible for such goods to be exported to Nigeria.
“Nigerian goods are traded in Ghana. They are highly accepted but many Ghanaian goods are prohibited in Nigeria. Examples are textiles and timber,” he said.
The prohibited Ghanaian goods were actually manufactured in other countries and shipped to Ghana for re-packaging and export to Nigeria.
This development is said to have made the Nigerian authorities to disallow such goods into the Nigerian market to prevent an influx of cheap products.
Asare-Barimah disclosed, however, that the governments of Nigeria and Ghana had been meeting to ensure smooth trade flow between the two West African countries.
“Our government is working with its Nigerian counterpart and Nigerian stakeholders to address the issues. Currently only 24 Ghanaian companies are operating legally in Nigeria.
“We hope that there will be an amicable resolution of the issues so that more Ghanaian businesses will come to do businesses in Nigeria,’’ the envoy stated. (NAN)
