President John Dramani Mahama has announced a sweeping initiative to triple Ghana’s non-traditional export revenues by 2030 as he attempts to diversify the country’s export portfolio and increase foreign exchange earnings.
Central to this push is the inauguration of the Accelerated Export Development Committee (AEDC), an 18-member presidential advisory body tasked with steering Ghana’s long-term export growth under the newly launched Accelerated Export Development Programme (AEDP).
The AEDC is positioned as a strategic coordination platform to drive policy alignment, ensure institutional accountability, and accelerate execution of the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS).
Speaking at the committee’s inauguration on Monday, May 5, President Mahama described the initiative as both ambitious and intentional.
“The AEDC has been established to serve as a high-level platform for strategic coordination, policy coherence, and institutional accountability in our export development efforts. Our strategy is ambitious but deliberate,” he stated.
At present, Ghana’s non-traditional exports comprising processed foods, handicrafts, textiles, horticultural products, fish, and services contribute approximately $3.5 billion annually. The government’s new target represents nearly a threefold increase and signals a determined pivot toward value-added production and export sophistication.
Mr. Mahama emphasized that Ghana can no longer afford to rely heavily on low-complexity, raw commodity exports such as gold, cocoa, cashew, and timber.
“We must change this narrative, we aim to build an export-driven industrial base that transforms raw materials into competitive finished goods for global markets,” he asserted.
To support the export agenda, President Mahama also unveiled a raft of trade facilitation and infrastructure upgrades, including plans to modernize Ghana’s seaports and customs systems, operationalize the long-awaited Bankra Inland Port, develop the Mpakadan Port as a logistics hub, revamp the Volta Lake Transport Company and expand cold chain infrastructure for fisheries and horticulture.
These interventions are expected to drastically cut logistics costs and export clearance times, two areas where Ghana currently lags behind its West African peers.
Industry leaders have welcomed the renewed focus, citing logistics and infrastructure as critical bottlenecks for exporters, particularly small and medium enterprises operating outside urban centers.
