Ghana’s earnings from the exports of gold, cocoa and crude oil for 2016 went up marginally, compared to what it got in 2015.
It reached $11 billion according to latest data released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) which is higher than the $10.3 billion secured in 2015.
According to the data, gold brought in some $4.9 billion which is higher than the $3.2 billion in 2015.
Cocoa contribution in the national purse saw a decline of $2.7 billion in 2015. Also, earnings from crude oil dropped from $1.9 billion to $1.4 billion at the end of December 2016.
According to sources close to the Central Bank, gold’s good earnings was as a result of pick up in prices on the international market in the last quarter of 2016 and volumes exported.
However the same cannot be said for Cocoa and Oil as prices of these commodities decline marginally, a development that affected volumes exported.
For some, the pickup in total earnings could be good for government as it will go a long way to improve its revenue.