**Ghana’s total export earnings rose by 24.8% to US$22.39 billion in the first eight months of the year, driven mainly by stronger receipts from gold, cocoa and crude oil.** The increase from US$17.94 billion in the corresponding period of 2025 helped push the country’s trade surplus to US$8.80 billion, compared with US$6.69 billion a year earlier. Export growth outpaced the rise in imports during the period. The Bank of Ghana said higher international prices were the main reason for the increase in export receipts, alongside larger crude oil and cocoa volumes. A composite weighted average price index covering cocoa, gold and crude oil increased by 5.6% year-to-date to 261.86 in August 2026. All three commodity sub-indices recorded gains. Crude oil led the rise with an increase of 42.9%, followed by gold at 2.1% and cocoa at 1.5%. On an annual basis, the overall index grew by 15.4%, lower than the 20.3% increase recorded in August 2025. The Bank of Ghana attributed the slowdown to falling cocoa prices, which more than offset increases in gold and crude oil prices. #### Gold leads export growth Gold export earnings climbed by 32.9% to US$14.86 billion, making it the largest contributor to the overall increase. The average realised price rose by 44.0$4,374.65 per fine ounce, with the Bank of Ghana linking the increase to sustained safe-haven demand amid heightened geopolitical and financial market uncertainties. Gold export volumes, however, fell by 7.7% to 3.4 million fine ounces from 3.7 million fine ounces a year earlier. The decline was largely associated with shipment disruptions following the onset of the Middle East conflict. Cocoa export receipts, which include cocoa beans and processed cocoa products, increased by 9.9% to US$2.71 billion, up marginally from US$2.47 billion in the first eight months of 2025. The rise reflected both favourable realised prices and higher export volumes. Crude oil export earnings recorded a similar increase, rising by 32.8% to US$2.42 billion from US$1.83 billion over the same period in 2025. The growth in crude receipts was supported by increases in production and price. Output from the Jubilee field helped lift export volumes by 8.0% to 27.6 million barrels, compared with 25.6 million barrels a year earlier. The average realised crude oil price also rose by 23.1%, reaching US$87.68 per barrel from US$71.25 per barrel, supported by elevated global oil prices. In contrast, earnings from “other exports”, including non-traditional exports (NTEs), fell by 3.0% to US$2.39 billion from US$2.46 billion. The decline reflected lower receipts across all NTE sub-categories.