Trading activities with France resulted in Ghana earning over 200 million euros ($234.6 million) in surplus for last year.

Speaking exclusively to Joy Business, French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Avé attributed this to a decrease in imports from France, coupled with a 30% increase in exports to France by Ghana.

“Ghana earned over 200 million euros as surplus in trade balance last year and this is because imports from France decreased by 6% and exports from Ghana to France increased by 30%,” she noted.

“At the moment, France and the EU are in partnership to deepen trade ties with Ghana,” she told Charles Ayitey, host of the Market Place.

Ghana mainly supplies oil to France, and also agricultural products and food. It is now the 5th biggest supplier of oil to France in sub-Saharan Africa.

On the other hand, France exports mainly metallurgical products, refined petroleum products, food products and engineering equipment to Ghana.

Speaking about French investments in Ghana, Ambassador Sophie Avé said France’s biggest investment in Ghana was through the over $1.5 billion Tema Port Expansion project facilitated by French company, Bolloré Transport & Logistics and APM Terminals with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

“The $1.5 billion investment in the Tema Port expansion project with Bolloré Transport & Logistics investing over $500 million with support from the World Bank is our [France] biggest investment in Ghana. The country has a good business climate and is an attractive investment destination on the continent for French companies,” she stated.

According to her, the huge investments by French companies in the country is due to Ghana’s good business climate and attractiveness as an investment destination on the continent.

There are currently more than 70 French companies established in the country in a large range of sectors. They are into agriculture, banking, insurance, construction, logistics, oil and gas, hotel and restaurants.

The well-known French companies in Ghana are Société Générale, Total, Technip, Pernod Ricard, Alstom, Bolloré, CMA-CGM, Air Liquide, and L’Oréal. Others like Golden Exotics (La Compagnie Fruitière) or GREL are large employers in the country.

The activity of French companies in Ghana has contributed to the creation of around 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.