Skip to main content

Trade Deficit Worsens

By Elikem MENSAH

Ghana’s trade deficit has widened in the first nine months of 2008. It recorded a deficit of US$716.8m compared with a deficit of US$566.9m during the same period in 2007.

The deficit was basically financed mainly by drawdown of reserves including the balances of sovereign bond proceeds of US$750m that accrued in the last quarter 2007.

However, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has projected that the overall balance of payment deficit is expected to narrow to US$490m compared to a surplus of US$413.1m in 2007.

Total merchandise exports stood at US$4,017.5m, an average annual growth of 30.8% at the end of September 2008.

Export of cocoa beans and products amounted to US$1,160.9m compared with US$910.8m for the same period in 2007 representing an annual growth of 27.5%.

Cumulative cocoa purchases for 2007/2008 season through the end of September 2008 amounted to 758,908 tonnes, against a forecast of 650,000 tonnes for the entire crop season.

Gold export for the first nine months amounted to US$1,751.0m compared with US$1,247.4m for the same period in 2007.

Non-traditional exports the same at the same period amounted to US$716.9m, compared with US$586.7m for the same period in 2007.

Additionally, total merchandise imports for the period amounted to US$7,514.1m, recording an annual growth of 31.3%.

Non-oil imports grew by 38.3% on year-on-year basis and amounted to US$5,807.2m, representing 77.3% of total imports, compared with 73.4% for the same period in 2007. Capital and intermediate goods accounted for close to 70% of total non-oil imports bill compared with 68% for 2007.

Oil import bill for the period January to September 2008 was US$1,706.8m compared with US$1,523.9m for the same period in 2007.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nestlé Ghana Limited Wins Overall Best Industrial Company Of The Year at 13th AGI Industry & Quality Awards

  Nestlé Ghana Limited has been honored with four prestigious awards at the 13th Association of Ghana Industry and Quality Awards ceremony. The event, held in an esteemed setting, gathered prominent figures from Ghana’s industrial sector. Amidst the anticipation, Nestlé Ghana emerged as one of the evening’s notable winners, securing accolades in several key categories. This recognition underscores Nestlé Ghana’s relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation, marking a significant milestone that highlights the company’s substantial contributions to the manufacturing industry in Ghana. Nestlé Ghana's exceptional performance was acknowledged with the following awards: Overall Best National Quality Award, Diamond Category (Food) Overall Best Practices in Sustainable Manufacturing Best Company (Food Sector) Overall Industrial Company of the Year, affirming its status as a leader not only within the food sector but also across Ghana's entire industrial landscape. This success is a ...

Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi Mine tops 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards

 AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine has confirmed its status as sustainability champions by sweeping nine awards, the most won by a company at the 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards (SSI) held at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. The feat comes on the heels of a dominant performance in last year's event where AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine swept seven awards. The SSI Awards organised by Ianmatsun Global Services recognizes the most outstanding sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives in the country and beyond as well as the best teams and individuals who brought them to life. This year's event, which was the 8th edition, was under the theme "Climate Action Now: Accelerating Decarbonization and Building Resilience". The awards won by AngloGold Ashanti on the night include SSI Company of the Year, Best Company in Women Empowerment (project), SSI Company of the Year ( Environment), Best Co...

Zoomlion Advocates Community & Gender inclusive waste management for Climate Action at COP 29

 Africa's waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has advocated for an integrated approach to waste management that considers the interest of community members, women and vulnerable groups. James Deku, a Communications Officer of Zoomlion Ghana Limited made this call at the 29th session of the Conference Of Parties (COP 29) of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Azerbaijan, Baku whiles speaking on the topic "Community-Driven and Gender Inclusive approaches to waste management for Climate Action ". He said the waste sector is a major contributor of methane emissions which is a potent greenhouse gas causing climate change hence the need to manage waste in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Zoomlion's waste management model is designed and operated in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, local authorities engage community members in clea...