Ghana’s total exports exceed imports by $780m in February 2020 according to data from the Bank of Ghana

According to the BoG data, this represents 1.1% of the total value of all goods and services produced in the country.

Comparing the figures from this year to the same time last year there is an increase from the $378 million or 0.6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded in February 2019.

The BoG explained that the increase was because Ghana’s imports declined while the country also benefitted from the increase in prices of commodities like gold and cocoa.

Ghana made a total of $2.76billion from the export of traditional commodities like cocoa, gold, and oil. This is an increase from the $2.67billion recorded in 2019.

The country also spent $1.98billion on the importation of oil and non-oil commodities in February 2020 while it spent $2.29 billion from the same period last year.

The BoG indicated that Ghana gained from the rise of prices in commodities like gold and cocoa, spanning February 2019 to February 2020.

For instance, the price of an ounce of gold went up from $1,319 to $1,601. This represents a growth of 8.2%. Also, the price of a ton of cocoa rose from $2,387 to $2,668 representing a growth of 6.9%.

However, the price of oil decreased by 15.1% for the 12-month period under review. A barrel of the commodity fell from about $66 to $55 between February 2019 and February 2020.

Currently, Ghana’s gross international reserve which shows how much the country can afford granted all major streams of revenue are hardly hit, reached $10billion in February 2020.

This is an increase from the $6.3 dollars which could cover 3.2 months of imports cover recorded in February 2019.