Bolgatanga basket weavers hold fair
Bolgatanga (Upper
East) 29 March 2003- The Upper East Regional Minister, Mahami Salifu has
advised craftsmen and basket weavers to be more innovative and improve on the
quality of their products to enable them compete favourably on the
international market.
Salifu said revenue
generated from the export of Bolga baskets yielded 492,031 dollars last year,
down from 3.8 million dollars in 2001. He was speaking at the 2nd Bolga Basket
Fair dubbed "Bobafair 2003" at Bolgatanga to award outstanding
craftsmen and women. It was organised by the regional office of the Ghana
Export Promotion Council and sponsored by the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly,
Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and other donors in the
region.
Salifu was happy that
the Ghana Export Promotion Council and other stakeholders were putting together
various schemes to improve the crafts industry in the area. He said Bolgatanga
had been selected as one of the crafts villages in the country and assured
weavers that straw plantations would be established at Bongo and Navrongo to
provide raw materials for the basket industry. The Regional Director of EPC,
Miss Mariam Mensah, said the council aimed at fostering close relationship with
exporters and producers to achieve better results.
GRi.../
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