Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sabah Zita Benson, has revealed that certification hurdles remain a major obstacle for Ghanaian exports entering the UK market.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, she said her diplomatic mission has been heavily focused on economic diplomacy, aimed at attracting investment and strengthening trade ties between Ghana and the UK.
Responding to a question from host George Wiafe about efforts to attract capital to Ghana at a time when countries are increasingly prioritising domestic interests, the High Commissioner described her experience as positive but not without challenges.
“It’s been great since I took over. When we were leaving for our duty posts, we were given matching KPI orders. And number one on the KPI is economic diplomacy. So I’ve been pursuing economic diplomacy relentlessly.”
She explained that beyond high-level engagements, her approach has involved direct interaction with Ghanaian businesses operating in the UK to better understand their challenges.
On the personal level, I visit the Ghanaian businesses to interact with them. We have a trade partnership agreement between Ghana and the UK, so when I go to these businesses, I ask them how they get their imports into the UK and the difficulties they face.”
According to her, these engagements have revealed a consistent bottleneck that is limiting the smooth flow of Ghanaian goods into the UK.
“I found out that most of the difficulties they face have to do with certification.”
She specifically pointed to the issue of standards and regulatory acceptance, noting that Ghana’s current certification framework aligns with stringent European benchmarks.
“The certification and standardisation of our FDA certificate is the European one, which is very high, but we have to find a way for the UK to accept that.”
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com