The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has released Export and Import Price Indices (XMPI) for the first time, measuring changes over time in the relative prices of exported and imported products against their quantities. The XMPI indicate that, on average, export commodity prices increased by 20.4% between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024, while import commodity prices rose by 11.5%. This suggests that Ghana’s trade flow increases have been primarily driven by price changes rather than output increases. These indices, calculated using data from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, are highlighted in GSS’s inaugural quarterly trade statistics newsletter, released on May 30, 2024.The quarterly trade statistics newsletter, now a regular publication by GSS, aims to provide up-to-date trade statistics for informed decision-making. The newsletter reported a trade surplus of GH₵11.5 billion in Q1 2024, more than double the GH₵4.5 billion surplus recorded in Q1 2023. However, Q1 2024 saw the lowest export value of cocoa products since 2021, with exports dropping to US$592.2 million compared to an average of US$825.8 million for the first quarters of 2021, 2022, and 2023.Additionally, the GSS released the 2023 Annual Trade Report on May 30, 2024. This is the third trade report from GSS in the past year, following the 2022 Trade Vulnerability Report and the 2023 Mid-Year Report on Trade. The 2023 report noted a reversal from a GH₵4.8 billion trade deficit in 2022 to a GH₵5.3 billion trade surplus in 2023. Gold exports significantly increased from GH₵54.1 billion to GH₵84.4 billion, while mineral fuels and oils saw a slight increase from GH₵43.7 billion to GH₵44.6 billion. On the import side, Asia’s share of imports (41.3%) surpassed Europe’s (37.3%), with China becoming Ghana’s largest import partner at GH₵33.9 billion.The 2023 Annual Trade Report, the Q1 2024 Quarterly Newsletter, and the XMPI Technical Manual are available for download at www.statsghana.gov.gh. Trade statistics can also be accessed directly from the GSS StatsBank.
