Sixty-four percent of Ghana’s exports in the first half of this year were made up of gold, mineral fuels, and oils, the 2022 Trade Vulnerabilities Report by the Ghana Statistical Service has stated.

The share of gold exports was 9.4 percentage points high in the first half of 2023 compared to 2022, while that of mineral fuels and oils exports was 8.5 percentage points lower.

The share of all other commodities also declined during the period.

Gold makes up more than half of all exports to Europe (53.4%) and almost half to Asia (48.0%) and Africa (47.0%).

For North America, the main export commodity is mineral fuels and oils, contributing three-quarters (74.2%) of all exports. Cocoa beans and products represent a quarter of exports (24.7%) to Europe, the highest across continents, followed by North America (17.6%) and then Asia (13.2%).

The report pointed out that exports exhibited a consistent pattern exports exhibited a consistent pattern across various continents in the first half of 2022 and 2023, with about one-third of exports going to Europe.

There was also a 6.4 percentage point increase in the share of imports from Europe while the share for all other continents declined.

This mid-year Trade Report, which identifies Ghana’s trading partners and commodities for the first half of 2023, follows the publication of the Ghana 2022 Trade Vulnerabilities Report, which presented trade statistics for 2022.

The Ghana 2023 Midyear Trade Report provides additional insight by assessing change in Ghana’s trade value between the first two halves of 2022 and 2023 highlighting changes in trade value for specific commodities across continents and countries between the first two halves of 2022 and 2023.