Food Processing

The major food items processed are fish, cassava, palm nut and sugar cane.  Fish is mostly smoked at areas like New Takoradi, Nkotompo, Aboadze, Aboasi and Shama.  This is done by mainly women under poor working conditions.  Crude methods are used and these expose the women to excessive heat-a health hazard.

Cassava is also processed into Gari at Awuna Beach and places such as Assakae and Nkroful under equally bad environment.   Palm nut, coconut and sugar cane are processed into palm oil, coconut oil and alcohol (akpeteshie) but these activities are all crudely done and hence contribute very little to the growth of the local economy and employment.

Non-Traditional Export Development

The main Non-Traditional Export product produced in the Metro is furniture pieces.  This product is exported mainly to La Cote d’Ivoire.  The main problem here has to do with cumbersome procedure which exporters go through at check-points especially within La Cote d’Ivoire.  The ECOWAS Protocol on Trade liberalization is yet to be enforced and this makes sub-regional commerce difficult.

Another emerging Products in the Metropolis are Batik and Tie and Dye.  These products are exported across the West African Sub-region and few places in Europe and America.  The finishing of these products however needs improvement to be able to take full advantage of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) initiative.

Manufacturing Industries

Compared to other Metropolises on the country the Metro can boost of very few manufacturing industries.  Less than 5% of Direct Foreign Investments in the Country come to the Metropolis. Poor marketing of the Metro. accounts for this situation.  The Export Processing Zone (EPZ) is still waiting to be exploited but the nature of investment involved requires private capital.  So far only few investors have shown interest in the EPZ but the pace of consultations and discussions has been rather low.