The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed Ghana recorded a trade surplus of 200 million dollars for the first half of 2023. This is a turnaround in the 400 million-dollar deficit recorded for the same period last year.
According to figures in the Ghana 2023 Mid-Year Trade Report, Ghana spent a total of GHC 85 billion on imports between January 2023 and June 2023, compared to the GHC 65.4 billion spent from January 2022 to June 2022.
Additionally, the export value for the first half of 2023 rose to GHC 87.4 billion from the GHC 63.1 billion recorded in the first half of 2023. This translates in cedis terms to a GHC 2.4 billion trade surplus for the half of 2023, a sharp contrast from the GHC 2.3 billion deficit for the first half of 2022.
While in terms of the local currency, both exports and imports were higher in 2023 relative to 2022, the figures recorded in US dollar denominations had lower values relative to 2022. In the case of imports, the US dollar value dropped significantly from 9.6 billion in 2022 to 7.9 billion, with exports also dropping from 9.2 billion to 8.1 billion.
During the celebration of 2023 African Statistics Day, government statistician Professor Samuel Kobina revealed the findings and stated that the drop in dollar valuation was a result of the negative impact of the Ghana cedi’s depreciation.
Source: Ghana/MaxTV/MaxFM/max.com.gh/Belinda Quansah
