Dubai - MENA Herald: Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Ghanaian International Office organised a Cosmetics Certification Roundtable at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra recently. The roundtable focused on halal certification for food cosmetics in line with the emirate’s strategy of promoting Dubai as the Capital of Islamic Economy in the world while enlightening Ghana’s largest exporters of raw agro processed material on the processes and procedures needed to export their produce to Dubai. With participation by officials of Ghana Export Promotion Centre, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and Ghana Free Zone Board, as well as producers of Shea nuts and butters, cashew and cocoa beans and information provided by Emirates Standardisation & Meteorology Authority and Ghana Shea Alliance, the roundtable discussed ways of creating demand and supply synergy between Ghanaian businesses and their Dubai counterparts besides providing them contacts of Dubai-based manufacturers and distributors of perfumery and cosmetics. Omar Khan, Director, International Offices, Dubai Chamber, stated that the Chamber organised roundtable succeeded in its purpose of educating Ghanaian businesses about the advantages of halal certification in their endeavour to access the Dubai market as having these certifications on food and cosmetic materials leads to an increased demand for Ghanaian and Sub-Saharan produce in the UAE. He further stressed that Ghana is a major producer of refined butters, pastes and oils which are much in demand by confectionary, food and cosmetics factories, yet most of the country’s exports go to the EU and US with minimum quantity going to the MENA region, specifically Dubai. Therefore, the roundtable focused on drawing the Ghanaian producers’ attention to the Dubai market which is a major re-export destination to the region and beyond. “The roundtable fittingly shed light on the importance of halal and organic certification through presentations highlighting the possibility of increased trade volumes between Ghana and Dubai and a rise in demand for Ghanaian produce in the emirate and their subsequent re-export to the regional markets,” said Khan adding that the roundtable also promoted Dubai’s efforts in enhancing the growth of halal cosmetic products and the emirate’s ambition of becoming the Capital of Islamic Economy in the world. The roundtable discussed sustaining growth in agro-processing through new markets by Dubai Chamber office with opening remarks by Eron Edu, Director of African Operations, Global Shea Alliance and closing address by Hajia Hanatu Abubaker, Investor Support Services Manager, Ghana Free Zone Board. Dubai Chamber’s International Office in Ghana is one of the three Chamber offices in the African Continent which was opened as part of the organisation’s strategy to stimulate the emirate’s business environment in promising markets of the world while attracting foreign direct investment to the country.
