BOG Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) recent data shows that the country recorded a trade surplus of $752.8 million in the first two months of 2023.
The amount, which is about 1.0 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product is higher than the surplus of $205.8 million recorded during the same period in 2021.
The significant growth in trade surplus was due to significant proceeds from gold exports, whilst net imports also fell.
According to the BoG data, total exports in the first two months of 2023 went up by 11.19 per cent year-on-year to $2.76 billion.
“Total exports for the first two months in 2022 were $2.48 billion,” figure released by the BoG indicated.
Crude oil exports in February 2022 stood at, $562.6 million, lower than the $688.8 million recorded in February 2022.
This is mainly due to price effects as the crude oil price has gone down significantly from over $100 to about $73.
Gold export earnings, however, went up by 35.7% to $1.11 billion, supported by increased production volumes triggered by the positive response from small-scale gold exporters.
Cocoa receipts also went up by 11.63% year-year to $546 million in February 2023.
This is despite lower prices and low cocoa purchases.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri