Bank of Ghana, through its data, reports China and other countries in the Far East account for 36.1% of total exports from Ghana in the first half of the year.

The report showed that this was followed by other economies with 17%, other European countries with 16.1%, European Union (12.3%), the Rest of Africa (10.3%), ECOWAS (5.1%), and North America (3.1%).

The estimated value of products exported however declined in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2019.

In 2019, exports for the second quarter amounted to $4.02 billion. This shows a 548.42 million (13.6%) difference compared to the $3.4 billion of total exports in the second quarter this year.

The decrease can be attributed to the declining receipts from the exports of crude oil, although other exports (other minerals and non-traditional exports) and some commodities recorded lower export receipts as well.

The export of timber products in the second quarter brought in $29.17 million representing a decline from the 2019 exports of $40.08 million.

The value of “other” exports, which is made up of non-traditional exports, electricity and other minerals (bauxite, diamond, aluminium, and manganese); was estimated to be at $566.56 million. This is 16.2% lower than the value of products exported in the second quarter of 2019.

The top-ten non-traditional commodities exported during the first half amounted to $273.44 million compared to $309.36 million recorded for the same period in 2019.

The top 10 non-traditional items exported include cashew nuts, prepared or preserved tuna, palm oil, and its fractions and aluminium.