Ghana records trade surplus of $1.107bn in 2021 – Bank of Ghana Summary of Economic and Financial Data reveals

The Bank of Ghana Summary of Economic and Financial Data has revealed that Ghana recorded a trade surplus of $1.107 billion in 2021.

This is however lower than the $2.043 billion registered in 2020, and equivalent to 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to the data, exports for the period stood at $14.73 billion, whilst imports recorded was estimated at $13.62 billion.

The reduction in the trade balance is largely due to the further easing of the economy from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

The data further revealed that gold dominated the total value of exports, recording $5.08 billion in 2021, compared to $6.79 billion in 2020 when there was a windfall in the price of gold on the world market.

Exports from crude oil yielded $3.94 billion for the country in 2021. This is compared with $2.91 billion in 2020.

The impressive outing for crude oil exports was as a result of the higher price of crude oil, particularly during the second part of last year.

For imports, non-oil imports were estimated at $10.90 billion, whilst oil imports accounted for $2.71 billion.

Also, the current account balance as of December 2021 stood at a deficit of $2.49 billion, about -3.6% of GDP. This is higher than $2.13 billion recorded during the same period of last year.

The overall balance of payment however stood at $510.1 million in 2021, as against $377.5 million in 2020.