The seminar was also for the state agencies to listen to the concerns of the business community regarding their services to find solutions to them as well as share best practices in terms of how local businesses could penetrate the international market.

The day's event, held at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale, the venue for the ongoing international trade fair, was organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA).

The state agencies that took turns to make presentations about their core activities included GEPA, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and the Food and Drugs Authority.

The rest were Ghana Tourism Authority, Ghana Free Zones Board, and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission.

Participants included players in agribusiness and cosmetics industry.

Miss Afua Asabea Asare, Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, whose presentation was made on her behalf during the seminar, spoke about some of the products being promoted by GEPA, which included shea butter and handicrafts, and called on businesses to get certification for their products to enhance their competitiveness.

She further called on the businesses to improve on packaging of their products to meet the demands of the international market such that their products would not be rejected.

Some of the participants raised concerns, which centered on the challenges businesses encountered in their attempts to raise funds for their operations, frustrations and delays in getting certification for their products from the GSA, and price differentiation for standards inspections.

Mr James Wanaba, Northern Regional Manager of GSA, who responded to the concerns of frustrations and delays in getting certification for products, said the GSA was making efforts to ensure that the turn-around time for certifying products was reduced.

The GNA learnt that the GSA has only one laboratory, located in Accra, for testing products for certification, a situation, which results in delays sometimes for up to three months to certify a product.

Mr Wanaba, said staff at the GSA's laboratory were now working all-day and night to ensure that products were tested on time and gave the assurance that plans were being made to establish another laboratory in Kumasi to ensure quick turn-around time for testing products.

Meanwhile, the international trade fair, which opened on February 27, will end on March 08.