CHECK COUNTERFIT TRADES IN THE COUNTRY-CHARLES COFIE.

Unilever Ghana has called on actors of the regulatory agencies including the Ghana Standards Board to work hard to put to book persons and organizations that trade in counterfeit product. This cripples the activities of genuine producers, erodes the confidence of consumers in a particular products. The Chief Executive Officer of Unilever Ghana,Mr. Charles Cofie disclosed this at Facts behind the Figures series organised by the Ghana Stock Exchange in Accra ."These illegal acts such as allowing of fake goods, including food products,clothing and medicine onto the Ghanaian market showed a sign of irresponsible and poor investor motivation and at the long round collapse the economic gains of the country.Commenting on the performance of this outfit he said Unilever revenue for 2008 grew by 19.1 per cent to GH¢165.6 million up from 139.0 million in 2007 while operating margin was 17.2 percent up from 13.1 percent. "Even though the country was faced up with problems such as power crisis we move beyond boundaries to perform".The major challenge had been crude palm oil, the main raw material, whose cost went up in the world market by over 70 per cent from $800 to $1,340.Commenting on the way forward Mr. Cofie said it was going to be a challenging year, especially in the face of the global economic downturn and the risk and threat from unfair competition and was sure that Unilever would rise above the challenge through appropriate internal operations to ensure profitability. The Facts behind the Figures series as organised by the Stock Exchange is aimed at allow companies listed on the bourse to explain their performance to investing public and the press.