By Kodjo Adams, GNA
Accra, Aug. 21, GNA – The Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry says Global Standards One (GS1) will help improve the visibility, traceability and market access of Ghanaian products.
It said globally recognised product identification standards would enable businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to access modern retail and e-commerce platforms and expand into international markets.
The position was contained in a statement delivered on behalf of Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Sector Minister, at the 20th anniversary celebration of GS1 Ghana, held on the theme: “GS1 Barcode-A Tool foe Sustainable Market Access.”
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said Ghana’s ambition to expand its products under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the European Union and other international markets required products to meet globally recognised identification and traceability standards.
She said inadequate product identification could prevent locally produced goods from entering formal retail outlets and international value chains.
The Minister said GS1 standards could help businesses reduce transaction costs, minimise manual data-entry errors and improve logistics and supply-chain efficiency.
“Without a globally recognised GS1 identification, basically a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), micro, small and medium enterprises cannot unlock the modern ecosystem,”she said.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said the standards could enable products such as agricultural produce, chocolate and spices to move from informal markets into formal retail channels and gain access to markets in Europe, America and Asia.
She said traceability was critical to gaining access to international markets, as GS1 systems enabled products to be tracked from the farm or production site through processing and distribution to the final consumer.
The Minister said farms and agricultural locations could be assigned unique global location numbers, while information such as harvest dates, batch numbers and processing conditions could be incorporated into data carriers, including two-dimensional barcodes.
She pledged to work with GS1 Ghana to integrate the standards into the Ministry’s systems and support efforts to make Ghanaian products more competitive in international markets.
Mr Kofi Nagetey, Chief Executive Officer of GS1 Ghana, said the organisation had, since its inception, supported more than 2,000 businesses in Ghana and neighbouring West African countries with globally recognised product barcodes, including GTINs.
He said the initiative had streamlined retail operations and facilitated the marketing of products on domestic and international supermarket shelves.
Professor George Agyei, Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, said barcodes were important to businesses because they provided information on the quality and identity of products.
“As an Authority, we take barcodes very seriously because standards can tell you about the quality and identity of a product.
“A GS1 barcode, in particular, tells you what type of product it is and identifies the item in the market.Without that code, your product may not be visible in the marketplace,” he said.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Kodjo Adams
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