The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as the top destination for Ghana’s gold exports, receiving approximately 40% of the country’s gold.
Switzerland ranked second, with 30.1%, followed by South Africa and India, which accounted for 22.2% and 6.8%, respectively. Together, these four countries received 99.2% of Ghana’s gold exports.
This information is derived from the Ghana Statistical Service’s Quarterly Trade Newsletter for July to September 2024. Additionally, China was the leading destination for about a third of Ghana’s mineral and oil exports, making up 29.8%.
The Netherlands received nearly a quarter of the country’s cocoa exports at 22.2%, while Vietnam was the primary destination for vegetable products, with 17%. Burkina Faso received the largest share of Ghana’s iron and steel exports, totaling 55.9%.
In terms of imports, China was the top source for five out of ten product classifications, while the United Kingdom was the leading supplier of mineral fuels and oils, followed closely by the UAE. Vegetable products were primarily imported from Burkina Faso.
Gold bullion, valued at GHS 46.5 billion, was the top export product in the third quarter of 2024, with its value more than four times that of crude petroleum, the second-highest export, valued at GHS 11.6 billion.
The report also revealed that cocoa paste ranked as the third-highest commodity, generating GHS 2 billion and contributing 2.7% to the total export value.
This was followed by manganese ores, which earned GHS 1.5 billion, accounting for 2% of the export value, and tuna, which earned GHS 0.6 billion, with a share of 0.9%.
Together, the top five export products—gold, crude petroleum, cocoa paste, manganese ores, and tuna—represented the largest portion of the country’s export value.
The export share of gold rose from 42.5% in the third quarter of 2023 to 62.1% in the third quarter of 2024. In contrast, the share of mineral fuels and oils has halved over the same period.
The share of cocoa beans and products also saw a slight decline, from 4.8% to 4.6%.
Meanwhile, economists have urged the government to implement policies focused on adding more value to the country’s export commodities.
