Ghana’S export revenue for the first six months of 2017 has shown an impressive jump over what was recorded in the same period of 2016.

According to the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) Summary of Macroeconomic and Financial Data for July 2017, Ghana’s export revenue increased by 51.85 per cent to $6.04 billion in the first half of 2017, from $3.98 billion in the same period 2016.

The BoG’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) attributed the rise in export revenues to increased production volumes of Ghana’s major exports on the domestic front.

“Developments in the trade account over the first half of 2017 reflected higher export receipts arising from increased production volumes in gold, cocoa and crude oil,” a press release from the BoG’s MPC dated July 24, 2017 said.

The statement added that: “The recovery in exports combined with declining imports, resulted in an estimated trade surplus of 3.1 percent of GDP, compared with a trade deficit of 3.3 percent recorded last year.”

However, the feat can also be credited marginally to world commodity prices.
With the exception of Cocoa, Gold and Oil both traded much higher on the international market in the first six months of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016.

Cocoa

Cocoa recorded a 14 per cent revenue increase to $1.7 billion from January to June 2017, from $1.5 billion in same period 2016.

It is evident that there has been an improvement in production and Ghana is likely to meet its 2016/2017 crop season target of 900,000 metric tonnes. Ghana failed to meet its 2015/2016 target 850,000 metric tonnes when it made a little over 700,000 metric tonnes.

The shortfall has been attributed to poor managerial policies of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and unfavourable weather conditions. However, with a new leadership in place at the COCOBOD and a good amount of rainfall during the crop season, production has improved marginally.

Revenue from the commodity defied all odds and increased despite a slump in average prices on the world market.

On the international market, Cocoa price averaged $2,091 a tonne during the period under review in 2017, 30 per cent down from the $2,972 recorded same period 2016.

Gold

Gold revenue went up by 48 per cent in the period under review in 2017 to $3.06 billion, from $2.06 billion recorded in same period 2016.

This is in contravention with the Ghana Chamber of Mines’ fear that the clampdown on illegal mining (galamsey) would affect Ghana’s gold export revenue.

Despite the exit of the galamseyers in gold production, Ghana has still made
Gold price went up slightly by 3.6 per cent to an average of $1,231 an ounce in the first half of 2017, up from $1,187 during the same period in 2016.

Oil

The biggest gainer, oil, witnessed a revenue hike of 204 per cent to $1.24 billion from January to June 2017, as against the $408.3 million recorded in the same period of 2016.

Oil recorded the biggest average price change with a 26.5 per cent rise to $51.75 a barrel in the first half of 2017, up from $41 in 2016.