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The maiden Made-In-Ghana Fair, designed to encourage the public to patronise locally produced goods and services, was launched in Accra yesterday. It is scheduled for December 15 to 24, 2014 at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre in Accra. The exhibition, which has been joined to �Grand Sales 2014,� would run on the theme, �Bringing buyers and sellers together�. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, who launched the fair said, among other things, it had been segmented to allow for easy identification of products and services. He said as part of activities to generate maximum patronage of the fair, the organisers had set aside Saturday, December 20, 2014, as a Made-in-Ghana Health Walk Day and urged all manufacturers of made-in-Ghana goods and services and the corporate community to support and participate in the event. Objective Dr Spio-Garbrah said the two events, packaged by the Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited, were in support of President John Mahama�s campaign to encourage the patronage of made-in-Ghana goods, which was also aimed at supporting the government�s efforts to promote import substitution. He indicated that the recent decline of the cedi against other major world currencies was as a result of the Ghanaian�s crave for foreign goods and services. The minister said it was by changing the public�s preference for foreign goods to that of goods and services made in Ghana that the quantum of exports would be reduced and the pressure on the cedi against other currencies would be arrested. Ultimately, Dr Spio-Gabrah said patronage of locally produced goods and services would also lead to the creation of the needed employment for the people. International practice Dr Spio-Garbrah noted that in recent times, co-locating two distinct events was gaining serious attention in the international exhibition industry, because the concept allowed for the creation of bigger platforms for exhibitors, visitors and trade buyers, to converge and transact one-stop-shop business activities. �As a consumer fair it aims at boosting both internal and international trade, especially to promote Ghana exports and to create employment,� he said. He said trade fairs offered numerous opportunities for national growth and integration, business building relationship, promotion trade, exchange of linkages, innovation, improved competitiveness and above all provision of a trusted platform foe stakeholders to interact with industry and economic operators. Dr Spio-Garbrah urged all companies, business entities and potential exhibitors to register and enjoy the maximum benefit that the fair would offer both local and economic operators.