Although Ghana posted its strongest external trade performance in history during 2025 with a trade surplus of US$13.6billion, it is still failing to generate broad-based employment gains.
At the joint World Bank–African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET)–ISSER seminar on ‘Rethinking Trade for Growth and Jobs in Ghana’, policymakers, economists and exporters noted that the country’s trade structure remains concentrated in raw commodities and a small number of dominant firms.
During a presentation at the seminar, it became evident that that Ghana’s merchandise export basket has become less diversified over the past decade, with gold, cocoa and oil continuing to dominate exports.
Gold’s share of exports rose from 33 percent in 2013 to 38 percent in 2024, while the share of “other exports” fell from 32 percent to 26 percent.
Coupled with the above, Ghana’s export sector is heavily concentrated among a few firms. The top-10 exporters account for 74 percent of exports, the highest concentration among comparative economies including Kenya, Vietnam, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa.
The presidential advisor on the 24-hour economy programme, Goosie Tanoh, observed that Ghana’s export structure has changed little over decades despite successive policy interventions.
“The only difference between export mix in terms of products today is that oil has taken over timber,” Tanoh stated.
According to the World Bank presentation, exports have also made only a limited contribution to employment growth in Ghana. Employment growth among exporting firms was negative between 2013 and 2023, while a one percent increase in exports generated only a 0.19 percent increase in employment – the lowest among peer economies studied.
Tanoh linked the weak employment outcomes to structural constraints across financing, infrastructure, logistics and industrial capacity. He added that Ghana’s employment elasticity of output has fallen from around 0.7 in 2000 to 0.2 in 2024, reflecting weaker job creation relative to economic growth.
The World Bank study identified high non-tariff measures, weak logistics performance and structural production constraints as major barriers limiting Ghana’s trade competitiveness.
Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare says the old model of exporting raw materials while importing finished goods is one Ghana can no longer accept.
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