In 2022, the exportation of gold and crude oil recorded an increment of US$3 billion, according to the 2022 Annual Report and Financial Statment of the Bank of Ghana.

While exports of gold in 2022 amounted to US$6.61 billion, compared to US$5.08 billion in 2021, crude oil amounted to US$5.43 billion in 2022, compared to US$3.95 billion in 2021.

Giving a breakdown, the report indicated that "Gold exports in 2022 amounted to US$6.61 billion, compared to US$5.08 billion in 2021. The increase was largely driven by a 34.0 per cent rise in export volumes, reaching 3.8 million ounces in the review year. The average realised price of gold, however, declined to US$1,749 per fine ounce in 2022, from US$1,802 per fine ounce in 2021."

According to report, a number of factors, including efforts by government to address some challenges in the small-scale gold mining sector, with the launch of the community mining scheme and a reduction in withholding tax, accounted for the increase in volume.

"Gold continued to be the leading foreign exchange earner for the country, accounting for 38.0 percent of total exports in 2022," the report added.

For crude oil, the BoG report stated that "crude oil export receipts amounted to US$5.43 billion in 2022, compared to US$3.95 billion in 2021, due to higher realised prices, despite a decline in volume. The average realised price of crude oil increased by 40.6 percent to
US$100.19 per barrel in 2022, compared to US$71.24 per barrel in 2021. The volume exported, however, declined by 2.2 per cent year-on-year to about 54.2 million barrels in 2022."

Meanwhile, cocoa beans and products experienced a decline in 2022.

Exports of cocoa beans and products amounted to US$2.29 billion in 2022, compared to US$2.84 billion in 2021. Cocoa beans exports amounted to US$1.24 billion, a decline of 29.7 percent, year-on-year.

The average realised price of cocoa beans declined by 1.5 percent to settle at US$2,473.27 per tonne in 2022. Export volumes also declined by 28.7 percent to 502,345.19 tonnes.

Also, earnings from the export of cocoa products reduced by 9.4 per cent to US$970.60 million in 2022, as compared to the value in 2021.

See the full report below: