Ghana recorded a total of $11.1 billion export earnings in the first quarter of this year, according to the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

This was revealed in the central bank’s latest Summary of Economic and Financial Data and announced by the BoG during its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press briefing in Accra on Monday, 18 May.

According to the Data, the earnings were largely driven by rising gold prices and strong export performance, marking

This marks a monetary increase of $1.9 billion and a percentage increase of 21% over the $9.2 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.

Gold exports brought in $6.8 billion by the end of April 2026, compared with $5.2 billion during the same period last year.

Earnings from cocoa exports stood at $1.8 billion, unchanged from the figure recorded in April 2026.

Crude oil exports generated $1.2 billion for the first four months of the year, while other exports accounted for $1.1 billion.

On the import side, Ghana spent $5.8 billion between January and April 2026, up from $5 billion in the same period last year, showing that Ghana imported more goods, meaning more money was spent on imports this year than it did last year.

Oil alone import bill rose by $0.4 billion, representing a 25% year‑on‑year increase. Despite the increase in imports, Ghana recorded a trade surplus of $5.2 billion, slightly higher than the US$5 billion surplus posted during the same period in 2025.

The country’s current account balance also reached $3 billion by the end of March 2025.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s international reserves increased to $14.4 billion in April 2026, up from $13.8 billion in December 2025.

The Bank of Ghana data further showed that the country’s total gold reserves rose to 22.3 tonnes in April 2026, compared to 18.6 tonnes at the end of last year.

Ghana’s gold export earnings in 2025Ghana’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) gold export saw an exponential growth in 2025 from 2024, with approximately US$6.2 billion, a surge of nearly 135%, reflecting the sharpest year-on-year growth within the period.

This was announced in an infographic shared by Gold Board (GoldBod) on its official X (formerly Twitter) page.

According to the data shared, ASM gold export earnings rose from US$2.8 billion in 2018 to US$10.8 billion in 2025, representing an increase of about US$8.0 billion, or roughly 286%. The infographic also provided a year-on-year breakdown of exports, along with remarks on the exported commodity, stressing that the data covers exports made through official channels over the past seven years.

Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold exports stood at 75.7 tons valued at US$2.8 billion in 2018, despite a nationwide ban on small-scale mining, indicating strong underground or regulated output.

Exports declined to 53.4 tons worth US$2.2 billion in 2019 and further to 39.3 tons valued at US$2.0 billion in 2020, reflecting continued enforcement of mining restrictions and possible COVID-19 disruptions. In 2021, exports collapsed sharply to just 3.4 tons valued at US$185 million following the introduction of a 3% withholding tax on unprocessed ASM gold, which discouraged official exports.

Volumes recovered in 2022 to 22 tons worth US$1.1 billion after the tax was reduced to 1.5%, with growth continuing in 2023 when exports rose to 37.4 tons valued at US$2.1 billion. A major jump was recorded in 2024, with exports increasing to 63.6 tons valued at US$4.6 billion, driven by improved formalisation and high global gold prices.

Ghana GoldBoard (GoldBod), the centralised gold regulator in the country, has received widespread praise for its remarkable achievements in the last year. The gold regulator declared a surplus of over GH₵960 million in 2025, with expenditures below GH₵120 million. This translates into a surplus of between GH₵700 million and GH₵800 million, according to unaudited accounts last year.