By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Figures from the Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data, released on 27 January 2026, indicate that the country’s total export receipts scaled from $19.1bn in 2024 to a record $31.1bn (£24.5bn) in 2025.
The data shows that the rise in Ghana’s export earnings was largely driven by a sharp increase in gold exports.
Gold exports were more than doubled to $20bn in 2025, up from $10.3bn the previous year, reinforcing the mineral’s position as Ghana’s leading export despite volatility and generally weaker prices on international commodity markets.
Cocoa earnings, according to the central bank, also increased significantly, rising to $3.8bn from $1.9bn in 2024.
Some industry analysts have described the performance as unexpected, given softer global cocoa prices during the period.
Oil export revenues, however, declined to $2.6bn from $3.8bn a year earlier, largely due to lower crude oil prices. Other exports contributed a combined $3.6bn.
The data show Ghana spent $17.4bn on imports in 2025. Oil imports rose to $5.1bn from $4.6bn in December 2024, while non-oil imports increased to $12.3bn from $10.7bn.
The stronger export performance pushed Ghana’s trade balance to a surplus of $13.6bn, a marked improvement on previous years.
Gross international reserves rose to a record $13.8bn, while the current account balance exceeded $9.0bn at the end of December, compared with $1.5bn, or 1.8% of GDP, a year earlier.
The central bank said the improvement was driven by a trade surplus of $13.7bn, up from $3.8bn in 2024, with gold exports alone increasing by 103%.
Ghana’s economy was valued at $1.4 trillion in nominal terms.
