The value of merchandise exports for January to September 2015 was estimated at $ 7,750.8 million but decreased by $ 2,312.1 million, Mr Seth Terkper, Minister of Finance, said on Friday.

Presenting the 2016 budget statement to Parliament the Minister said the decline represented 23 percent as compared to the exports value of $10,062.9 million recorded during the same period in 2014.

“Falling commodity prices (gold, cocoa and oil) coupled with decreased production of all the major export commodities resulted in a low turnout in exports,” Mr Terkper said.

He explained that the value of crude oil exports was estimated at $1,468.8 million from January to September 2015 as against $ 2,925.7 million recorded in the same period in 2014.

“The average realised price of oil decreased significantly by 48.8 per cent to $ 54.9 per barrel while volume exported also decreased by 2.0 percent to 26.7 million barrels during the review period,” he said.

He said gold exports amounted to $ 2,445.2 million as compared to $ 3,369.3 million in the corresponding period of 2014.

The average realised price dropped by 8.2 per cent to $1,181.6 per fine ounce while the volume exported decreased by 21.0 percent to 2.1 million fine ounces.

According to the minister earnings from cocoa beans and products exports amounted to $1,921.7 million at end-September, 2015, almost equal to $ 1,921.7 realised in the same period in 2014.

But he said earnings from cocoa beans totalled $1,340.4 million, adding the realised price of cocoa beans rose by 22.2 per cent to settle at $2,990.9 per ton while volume exported shrank d by 21.0 per cent to 448,148.4 tons.

“Total value of merchandise imports for the first nine months of 2015 amounted to $ 10,091.1 million, down by 6.3 percent ($ 682.5 million). The decline was due to a drop in the importation of oil and gas,” Mr Terkper said.