The West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) has held a seminar for cosmetic producers exhibiting at the 24th International Ghana trade fair ongoing in Tamale.
The seminar was to educate the cosmetic producers on international requirements as well as equip them with marketing and competitive skills to enable their products penetrate into the regional and international markets.
Experts from regulatory authorities in Ghana, including the Ghana Standards Authority and the Food and Drugs Authority took time to educate participants on products certification and registration.
Chief Technical advisor for the WACOMP project, Charles Kwame Sackey in an interview on the sidelines of the seminar told Diamond news, “the engagement with both the cosmetic producers and regulators was necessitated by an earlier interaction with some cosmetic producers where they (cosmetic producers) had raised some challengers they were facing concerning product certification and registration”.
He said the seminar was therefore to make available staff of regulatory bodies including the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to address challengers of the cosmetic producers.
He revealed that only 6% of all cosmetic products in Ghana are locally produced and the seminar will enable participants acquire knowledge on quality requirements and competitive skills to help them increase production and also meet both local and international market requirements.
The West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) is a partnership initiative between the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU).
The WACOMP objective is to strengthen the competitiveness of West Africa and to enhance the ECOWAS countries integration into the regional and international trading system.
The WACOMP seeks to improve the competitiveness of Ghanaian exports with a focus on three selected value chains which include cassava and its derivatives, fruits (mango and pineapple) and cosmetics and personal care products.
Source: Edward A. Ken-Zorre | www.diamondfmonline.com | Ghana
