The 2023 African Export and Import Bank Trade Report has revealed that Ghana did command some significant share of the total trade within the African Region.

The report puts Ghana’s share of the total intra-African trade for 2023 at 5.46 per cent. This represented more than a 27 per cent jump over what Ghana had in 2022.

The 2023 AFREXIM African Trade Report puts the total value of Ghana’s exports to other African countries for last year at a little over 6 billion dollars, compared to 4.73 Billion dollars that it had in 2022.

However, on the imports side, the value of goods and other commodities that Ghana “brought in” from other African countries stood at 1.3 Billion dollars.
For some, the report has revealed that Ghana is importing less from other African countries compared to the value of exports for 2023.

Ghana and the AfCFTA

The 2023 AFREXIM Trade Report also showed that Ghana is taking advantage of the Africa Free Trade Deal. This is despite earlier concerns that Ghana may be missing out or not in a better position to take advantage of the pact.

According to the AfCFTA Secretariat, trade under the rules established by the agreement started in January 2021.

However, commercially meaningful trade began only in October 2022 with the introduction of the Guided Trade Initiative.

Under this initiative, seven pilot countries, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Tunisia, started trading a set of goods on a duty-free basis to boost the implementation of the trade agreement and test the operational, institutional, legal, and trade policy environment under the agreement.

Other significant contributors to intra-African trade, which are among the top 10 countries, include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Together, these nations accounted for 22.2 per cent of total intra-African trade in 2023.

The collective contribution of these countries was bolstered by Ghana, Mali, and Namibia, which saw substantial gains in their trade volumes, marked by robust growth rates of 18.6 per cent, 13.0 per cent, and 5.4 per cent, respectively

The AFREXIM Trade Report

The report revealed that, despite the tumultuous global landscape, intra-African trade remained resilient, standing as a beacon of hope for sustainable development in Africa.

It grew at 7.2 per cent year-on-year, reaching US$192 billion, which accounted for 15 per cent of total African trade in 2023, up from 13.6 per cent a year ago.

This resilience, according to the Africa Report, was a testament to the continued push to implement the AfCFTA, backed by AfCFTA-enabling initiatives, such as Afreximbank's Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS), and Intra-Champ Initiative.

The Intra-Champ Initiative supports African businesses in executing projects and pursuing intra-African investments, as well as the expansion of investments in industrial infrastructure.

The report adds that “These initiatives are not just fostering trade but also nurturing a sense of optimism for the future of African trade and development.”