Ghana has shipped its first shipments of goods under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, officials revealed on Tuesday.

Two local companies, Kasapreko Company Limited, a local manufacturer of alcoholic products, and Ghanadour Cosmetics Limited, on Monday exported their products, by air and sea freight respectively, to countries on the mainland.

“Here at Kasapreko, we are very happy with the launch of the AfCFTA, and we are also happy to be one of the first companies to export products from Ghana under this agreement,” said Francis Holly Adza, director of international business development for the company.

“Kasapreko already exports products to 14 African countries, and we would like to take advantage of the AfCFTA to extend our market expansion to the rest of the continent,” he added.

For its part, Ghandour also exports its cosmetics to some African countries, and its officials said they believe the start of the AfCFTA should boost the company's market expansion on the continent.

Alan Kyeremateng, Ghana's Minister of Trade and Industry, on his part said that empowering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to enable them to play a vital role in the implementation of the AfCFTA will be necessary. to the success of it.

“In Ghana, we will ensure the inclusion of micro, small and medium enterprises in the AfCFTA implementation process so that they can all benefit from the new trading order,” the Minister noted.