Afruibana attended the 2023 edition of the Ghana Investment and Opportunity Summit (GHIOS) in London and continued its dialogue with the British authorities.

Paris, 14 June, 2023 – Afruibana was in London on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 June for the 3^rd Ghana Investment and Opportunity Summit, which was attended by Golden Exotics Limited, a member of BPA and AFRUIBANA. It was an opportunity for the association to continue its dialogue with the British authorities.

GHIOS brings investors together to present the features of Ghana’s attractiveness and the reasons that should make the country a preferred destination for investors considering doing business in Africa. Organized by the Ghana High Commission UK in partnership with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), the theme of this year’s GHIOS was “Post-Covid Economic Recovery: Opportunities for Investors”.

With real political stability, a positive business environment, a strong public and private sector involvement, a skilled workforce and excellent sea and air links with Europe and the United States, Ghana is a real draw for foreign investors. What’s more, since 2020 Ghana has been home to the headquarters of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the driving force behind economic integration for all African countries.

Established in Ghana for over 20 years, Golden Exotics Limited (GEL) and its Managing Director, Benedict Rich, attended the Summit and were invited to take part in the panel discussion on sustainable agriculture. Benedict Rich began his speech by pointing out that Ghana’s banana industry is the third largest agricultural export by value and employs over five thousand people. The Ghanaian banana industry is therefore a symbol of Ghana’s international success. He then spoke at length about the importance of technology for the banana industry.

He explained that: “Technology is absolutely essential in terms of productivity, but also in terms of traceability. We have invested €3.5 million in this over the last three years. All our plants on the field now carry a barcode, and workers are equipped with a scanner. Without this traceability, you are faced with questions about the origin of your food, the age of your fruit and, if a problem occurs during the journey, we can identify the origin of the incident. We are now able to export the highest quality bananas to the UK. In terms of productivity, this same program allows us to know which fruits are ripe. All our farmers have to do is pick up their scanners to see which plant is ready to be harvested. They go straight to that plant, without wasting any time.”

GEL is a national member of the Banana Producers Association (BPA), which has been a member of Afruibana since 2018. With Ghanaian producers joining Afruibana, the three main African banana exporting countries have been since speaking with one voice to the European Union and all other institutional actors.

Jean-François Billot, Secretary General of Afruibana, who was also in London, said: “The 3rd edition of this Summit, the first post-pandemic, is an important event for our industry, with bananas representing the third largest agricultural export by value and with over 20% of Ghana’s exports go to the UK. It was therefore essential for us to be here, support our members and reaffirm the close links between the UK and Africa. We also wanted to take this opportunity to reiterate our message of caution and reminding, particularly for our countries, the highly sensitive nature of bananas in any consideration of international trade. And, finally, to renew our message about the importance, especially for developing countries and Commonwealth partners, of the UK’s international trade policy stability.”