Ghana has recorded a nine percentage points drop in its total export earnings.

As of August 2023, total exports stood at US$10.76 billion. It is lower than the US$ 11.81 billion recorded in August 2022.

Although Ghana maintained a trade surplus in the year under review, total exports declined by about US$ 1 billion accounting for the nine percent fall.

The trade surplus stood at US$ 2.06 billion compared to the US$1.56 billion dollars posted in August last year.

Gold retained its dominance as the most significant contributor to the country’s total exports.

It was the only item in the export basket that saw an increase. It improved to US$ 4.67 billion from US$ 4.22 billion.

All the remaining components contracted. Cocoa exports reduced marginally from US$ 1.61 billion to US$ 1.60 billion.

Oil exports dropped significantly from US$ 3.82 billion to US$ 2.65 billion dollars. Other exports fell slightly from US$ 2.16 billion to US$ 2.11 billion.

In terms of the contribution of the trade surplus to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it was however an improvement.

The trade balance to GDP was 2.6 percent; higher than 2.1 percent in 2022.

However, country’s imports saw a decrease from US$ 10.25 billion dollars to US$ 8.74 billion. Both oil and non-oil imports fell, leading to this positive trade balance.