Data from the Bank of Ghana reveals that as of August 2023, Ghana's export earnings experienced a 9% decline. According to the report, the total exports during this period amounted to US$10.76 billion, which is notably lower than the US$11.81 billion recorded in August 2022.

For the initial eight months of the year, the trade account showed a surplus of US$2.0 billion, in contrast to the US$1.6 billion recorded in the same period the previous year. This surplus was primarily a result of import compression and a decrease in exports.

Gold exports remained Ghana's dominant export commodity, followed closely by cocoa. Gold exports increased from US$4.22 billion to US$4.67 billion.

The total export earnings saw an 8.9% year-on-year decline to US$10.8 billion, primarily due to a significant reduction in crude oil and cocoa products exports. Crude oil exports, in particular, dropped by US$1.5 billion, attributed to an 18.8% decrease in production volumes and a 23.6% decline in prices. Meanwhile, cocoa exports only slightly decreased from US$1.61 billion to US$1.60 billion. Additionally, oil exports saw a significant decline from US$3.82 billion to US$2.65 billion, while other exports decreased from US$2.16 billion to US$2.11 billion.

The trade balance to GDP ratio increased to 2.6%, higher than the 2.1% recorded in 2022.

On the import side, Ghana experienced a reduction from US$10.25 billion to US$8.74 billion. Total imports contracted by 14.7% to US$8.8 billion, compared to the previous year's US$10.3 billion. This decline was attributed to a 13.1% contraction in non-oil imports to US$6.1 billion and an 18.2% dip in oil and gas imports to US$2.7 billion.