The Second Quarter Trade Statistics from the Ghana Statistical Service indicate that Ghana has consistently exported more than it imported since last year.
However, the value recorded from April 2024 to June 2024 declined marginally to GH¢5.4 billion.
According to the report, gold remained Ghana’s dominant export.
It contributed GH¢37.0 billion (57.6%) of total export value in the second quarter.
The share of gold exports increased by about 10% from 47.5% in quarter 2 2023 to 57.6% in quarter 2 2024.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) surpassed Switzerland as the leading destination for Ghana’s gold exports, with 39.9% going to the UAE, followed by Switzerland (35.6%), South Africa (16.2%), and India (7.5%).
Cocoa exports decreased by about GH¢4.0 billion between quarter 1, 2024, and quarter 2, 2024.
The figure marks the fifth consecutive quarterly decline in cocoa export values and reflects a contraction in the cocoa sector, as indicated by recent GDP figures.
China remained the largest source of imported goods, contributing GH12.3 billion (20.9%) of total imports.
The report added that Ghana’s main trading partners remained Asia and Europe, with Asia continuing to be the largest destination for exports from the nation.
Imports from Asia increased significantly, while imports from Europe have been declining, suggesting a substantial change in Ghana’s trading patterns.
Professor Samuel Kobina Anim, the government statistician, explained that export prices increased by 40.5% year-on-year.
This he noted was primarily driven by the rising gold prices, while import prices also increased by 18.9%.
“In the computation of nominal and real trade values, we have denominated it in cedis. The more than doubling of the nominal values was from GH¢46.3 billion around the second quarter of 2021 to the current figure of GH¢123 billion, so we have adjusted for price changes from a cedi-denominated perspective,” he added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
