Trade surplus hits $1.87 billion in October

Latest figures from the Bank of Ghana indicate that Ghana’s total balance of trade recorded a surplus of 1.87 billion dollars in the first ten months of the year.

This, according to the Central Bank’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data is equivalent to about 2.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The surplus recorded is higher than the $1.02 billion dollars recorded during the same period in 2021.

The figures which summarise Ghana’s economic activities for the year ending October 2022 indicate that the country received 14.3 billion dollars from her exports in October 2022 compared to the estimated 12.4 billion dollars it spent on importing goods for the same period.

While total exports went up by 17.8% year-on-year to $14.3 billion, total imports also increased by 11.79% on a year-on-year basis to $12.45 billion.

The increase in the trade balance can be attributed to the increase in the price of crude oil on the world market and an increase in gold production in the country.

The Bank of Ghana data further revealed that gold dominated the total value of exports, recording US$5.33 billion in October this year, up from US$4.8 billion recorded in September.

Gold export earnings also went up by 26.4% to $5.33 billion, supported by increased production volumes triggered by the positive response from small-scale gold exporters.

Oil followed suit with US$4.6 billion worth of exports in the same month under review.

However, on account of lower prices and low cocoa purchases, cocoa receipts declined to $1.77 billion in October 2022, compared to $2.44 billion in October 2021.

According to the report, non-oil imports were estimated at US$8.5 billion, while oil imports accounted for US$3.9 billion for October 2022.