President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng has said there is a need for African countries to prioritize value addition in order to stay competitive in the global market.
Dr Obeng believes that value addition will propel economic development in African countries and also create jobs for the people.
Speaking to TV3, he said that the production capacities also have to be intensified.
“it is very important that we do value addition, we make sure that we are able to produce to add value and process our raw materials into finished goods at competitive pricing,” he said.
He added “That is where people of Africa can have something to buy among ourselves. So it is not lip service.
“We have to intensify our production capabilities to be self-sufficient in so many things especially those areas where we have a competitive advantage because we cannot pretend that Africa can produce everything that the world is producing. So we should look within those areas we can.”