Data from the Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Macroeconomic and Financial Data for March 2024 shows that the country earned $2.8 billion from its major exports in the first two months of 2024.
The latest assessment of Ghana’s external sector developments further revealed that, on a year-on-year basis, the value of exports did not see any significant growth from the same $2.8 billion posted as of February of the previous year.
According to the data, the figure, compared to the US$2.5 billion the country spent on importing goods for the same period, resulted in a trade surplus of about US$400 million.
Also, the positive trade balance accounted for 0.5 of GDP, which is a decline from the 1.1% of GDP recorded in February 2023.
Gold contributed $1.3 billion in exports and also maintained its spot as the most dominant contributor to exports.
It was a marginal increase from the $1 billion recorded in the in the same period last year.
Crude oil shipments were close behind, totaling $620 million in February 2024, up from $551 million the previous year.
Cocoa ranked third with $508 million.
This was a reduction from the $711 million recorded in the same period last year, accounting for a $203 million decline.
Meanwhile, oil imports dropped from $674 million to $599 million. Non-oil imports also decreased from $1.9 billion to $1.3 billion.
The growth in gross international reserves sustained the country’s import cover for 2.8 months.
The net international reserves of the country stand at $3.5 billion, a marginal increase from the $2.6 billion recorded in February 2023.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
