Crude oil exports fell by 36.7 percent to US$1.2 billion, mainly on account of both lower price and production volume effects as the TEN fields declined from a production of 30,000 barrels per day to 24,000 barrels per day,Bank of Ghana Governor has said.
According to him, gold exports increased by 15.9 percent to US$2.2 billion driven by higher export volumes, and cocoa beans export also rose by 30.3 percent to US$950.8 million, largely on the back of increased production volumes.
Dr. Ernest Addison,Governor of the Bank of Ghana Speaking at a press conference on Monday, May 22 said the price volatility and varied production volumes of the key commodities impacted export performance during the period.
He said from January to April, total export earnings declined by 3.6 percent year-on-year to US$5.6 billion, on the back of lower crude oil exports and to a lesser extent non-traditional exports, as gold and cocoa exports increased.
“The total import bill over the review period was provisionally estimated at US$4.0 billion, down by 13.9 percent year-on-year, and driven largely by non-oil imports and to a lesser extent by oil and gas imports. Non-oil imports compressed by 16.8 percent year-on-year to US$2.8 billion, in line with slowdown in economic activities, currency depreciation and easing global inflation. Oil and gas imports dropped by 6.3 percent to US$1.2 billion, due to declining crude oil prices on the international market. The higher import compression relative to the marginal decline in export earnings resulted in a trade surplus of US$1.6 billion in the first four months of 2023, compared to a trade surplus of US$1.2 billion in the same period of 2022”.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/ Mensah Atakora
