The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced that Ghana achieved a trade surplus of GH₵3.9 billion in the months of 2024.

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Data from the GSS indicates that export earnings in the third quarter of 2024 reached GH₵74.8 billion, surpassing import expenses of GH₵70.9 billion.

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This reflects a notable improvement from a trade deficit of GH₵2.3 billion in the third quarter of 2023 to a surplus of GH₵3.9 billion in the same period of 2024.

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In dollar terms, the total trade volume amounted to US$9.6 billion, with exports contributing US$4.9 billion and imports accounting for US$4.7 billion.

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Gold Bullion Is Top Exporter

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Gold bullion emerged as the leading export product in the third quarter of 2024, with a value of GH₵46.5 billion, exceeding the value of crude petroleum, the second-largest export, by more than four times at GH₵11.6 billion.

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The combined contribution of the top five exports – gold, crude petroleum, cocoa paste, manganese ores, and tuna – made up 83.2% of the total export value.

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The proportion of gold in Ghana’s exports rose significantly from 42.5% in Q3 2023 to 62.1% in Q3 2024.

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Conversely, mineral fuels and oils experienced a sharp decline, reducing their share by nearly half during the same period. Cocoa beans and related products also saw a slight drop, decreasing from 4.8% to 4.6%.

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In Q3 2024, the leading two import items, both classified under mineral fuels and oils, amounted to GH₵12.9 billion. Gas oil topped the list, contributing GH₵7.0 billion. Overall, mineral fuels and oils represented 22.3% of total imports.

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Cereal grains ranked as the fifth most imported product, making up 1.7% of imports, while machinery and electrical equipment accounted for 16.3% of the total.

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Export products were more concentrated, with the top five contributing 83.2% of total exports, in contrast to imports, where the top five represented only 24.8%.

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