International trade activity at Ghana’s two main harbours, Tema and Takoradi, has seen significant improvement in 2024, according to the Bank of Ghana’s Monetary Policy Report for July.
Laden container traffic for inbound and outbound containers grew notably during the period under review, signaling increased trade flows at the country’s ports.
Total container traffic for the month of May 2024 recorded a year-on-year increase of 9.4 percent, rising to 59,639 containers, up from 54,538 in May 2023.
The report further highlighted that trade activity in the first five months of 2024 has shown even greater improvement, with a cumulative increase of 14.2 percent in total container traffic. This translates to 284,745 containers being handled between January and May 2024, a significant boost from the previous year.
The increase in container traffic could indicate a rise in the flow of goods, supporting various sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, and retail, which are closely linked to the import and export activities handled through these harbours.
In the first half of 2024, Ghana recorded a provisional trade surplus of US$1.81 billion, up from US$1.60 billion in the same period in 2023. This improvement was driven by a 13.4% increase in total exports, reaching US$9.23 billion, largely due to significant growth in gold and crude oil exports. Gold exports surged by 46.4% to US$5.04 billion, boosted by both higher output and prices, while crude oil exports rose to US$1.98 billion.
However, cocoa exports dropped sharply by 47.4%, reflecting challenges such as extreme weather, diseases, and smuggling. “Other exports” fell by 8.7% to US$1.5 billion.
Imports rose by 13.5% to US$7.42 billion, with oil imports increasing by 6.1% to US$2.30 billion and non-oil imports climbing by 17.2% to US$5.12 billion.