South Africa accounted for more than two-thirds of Ghana’s exports to the African continent in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring the concentration of Ghana’s regional trade in a few markets.
Data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) show that Ghana exported goods worth GH¢21 billion to Africa between January and March 2026.
South Africa was by far the biggest destination, receiving GH¢14.1 billion worth of Ghanaian goods, representing 66.9% of the country’s total exports to Africa.
Côte d’Ivoire followed with GH¢2.5 billion, equivalent to 11.8% of exports to the continent.
Burkina Faso ranked third with GH¢1.7 billion, accounting for 8%, while Togo and Nigeria received GH¢600 million and GH¢400 million respectively.
Together, the top five destinations South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo and Nigeria, accounted for 91.3% of Ghana’s exports to Africa.
According to the GSS, Ghana has exported more to Africa than it has imported in every quarter since the fourth quarter of 2024.
The surplus reached its highest level yet in the first quarter of 2026, with total trade with Africa also increasing by US$0.2 billion between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
However, the composition of Ghana’s exports to individual African markets varied considerably.
Gold overwhelmingly dominated exports to South Africa, accounting for 99.9% of the total.
Exports to Burkina Faso were more diversified, with iron and steel accounting for 38.4% and plastics 25.9%.
In Togo, iron and steel, plastics and chemical products were the leading export categories, while machinery and electrical equipment made up the largest share of exports to Côte d’Ivoire at 40.8%.
The GSS data also show that Ghana’s imports from Africa were concentrated among a few countries, with the top five sources accounting for 86.5% of total imports from the continent.
Nigeria was Ghana’s largest African source of imports, contributing 32.9% of the total.
