Ghana’s external trade surplus increased to GH¢47.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by a spike in gold exports and excellent performance from cocoa beans, according to interim international trade statistics provided by the Ghana Statistical Service on April 8, 2026.
The Q4 2025 Trade Newsletter reported that Ghana’s external trade was GH¢170.1 billion for the quarter, with exports worth GH¢108.6 billion and imports of GH¢61.4 billion.
The surplus increased by 29.7 percentage points from the GH¢16.7 billion surplus achieved in Q3 2025.
Total trade in US dollars was valued at $15.1 billion, with exports of $9.7 billion and imports of $5 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.2 billion.
Gold bullion remained the country’s leading export product, valued at GH¢72.7 billion in Q4 2025, accounting for 66.9% of total exports.
This was more than seven times the GH¢9.6 billion value of cocoa beans, the second-highest export. Crude oil came in second with GH¢7.6 billion.
While the share of cocoa beans and allied goods rose from 5.5% to 13.9% during the same period, the share of gold in total exports decreased from 73.4% in Q3 2025 to 66.9% in Q4.
Gold bullion made up 62.9% of all exports for the entire year 2025, with cocoa beans coming in second at 8.6% and crude petroleum at 8.3%.
With a value of GH¢6.4 billion, or 10.4% of all imports, motor spirit super was the top import in Q4 2025. Petrol oil came in second at GH4.5 billion, or 7.4%.
With GH¢3.1 billion, used cars with engines between 1500cc and 3000cc came in third.
Oils and mineral fuels made up 24.0% of all imports in Q4, compared to 25.1% in the preceding quarter.
Vehicle and automotive part imports rose by 2.0 percentage points.
Petrol oil accounted for 11.2% of all imports for the entire year 2025, with motor spirit and super coming in second at 9.2%.
With GH¢27.2 billion, or 25.0% of all exports, India became Ghana’s top export destination in Q4 2025. The United Arab Emirates came in second with GH¢24.8 billion, or 22.8%.
The top five destinations, which together accounted for 74.8% of all exports, were South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
With GH¢14.3 billion, or 23.3% of all imports, China continued to be the leading supplier, followed by the United States of America with GH¢5.3 billion.
Ghana’s trade surplus with Africa persisted throughout 2025, peaking in the first quarter.
Gold bullion accounted for 57.1% of all shipments to Africa in Q4, with crude petroleum coming in second at 7.3%.
Nigeria was the biggest source of imports, accounting for 33.6% of all imports from Africa, while South Africa continued to be Ghana’s top African export destination, accounting for 63.8% of all exports to the continent.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the Import Unit Value Index was 193.6 and the Export Unit Value Index was 361.9. Year-on-year, export prices increased by 0.91 per cent, while import prices fell by 24.9 per cent.
On a quarterly basis, export prices surged by 23.2 per cent, driven largely by a 31.6 per cent increase in gold prices.
With real exports valued at GH¢30.0 billion and real imports at GH¢31.7 billion, the trade balance displayed a deficit in real terms, indicating the effect of inflation on purchasing power.
According to the Statistical Service, Ghana’s economy is vulnerable to fluctuations in commodity prices and supply interruptions due to its significant export concentration in gold, petroleum, and cocoa.
It suggested expanding value-added processing for minerals and cocoa, diversifying export markets and goods, building trade-related infrastructure, and strengthening intra-African trade through the AfCFTA.
Source: newsthemegh.com