The value of the top 10 non-traditional commodities exported during the third quarter of 2023 was $241.81 million.

This is compared to $317.45 million recorded for the same period in 2022.

According to the Bank of Ghana, tuna accounted for the largest share of the top 10 NTEs, with a share of 15.44%, followed by iron/steel (14.95%) and aluminium (11.11%), among others.

The value of merchandise exports for the review period was provisionally estimated at $3.771 billion, indicating a decrease of 10.2% compared with $4.201 billion recorded in the same
period in 2022.

Non-oil imports

The total merchandise non-oil imports including electricity imports for quarter 3, 2023 was provisionally estimated at $2.425 billion, down by 6.4% compared to the outturn recorded for the same period in 2022.

The drop in non-oil imports, the BoG said, was the result of decreases in demand for capital and intermediate goods imports.

Top 10 major non-oil imports

The top 10 non-oil merchandise imports for quarter 3, 2023 amounted to $591.67 million, compared to $670.35 million recorded a year ago.

Key items included motor vehicles for the transport of persons and goods, cereals, and self-propelled bulldozers, among others.

Capital goods

The value of capital goods imported during the review period was $452.18 million, down by 11.63% from the value recorded for the same period in 2022.

This was on account of a decrease in the imports of both capital goods and industrial transport goods.

Consumption goods

Consumption goods imported, however, increased by 24.13% to $587.86 million, from $473.60 million recorded a year ago.

This was due to a rise in imports of all the sub-categories.

The value of intermediate goods imported decreased by 10.50% to $1.253 billion, compared to $1.400 billion recorded a year ago. The value of other goods imported was $132.20 million, compared to $205.08 million recorded in quarter 3, 2022.

During the period, 32,319,465 kWh of electricity valued at $3.38 million was imported by VRA compared to 12,435,875 kWh worth $1.49 million import during the same period in 2022.