Ghana-France Trade Ties: Exports to France accounts for 59.8% of total trade surplus in 2020
Trading activities with France resulted in Ghana earning over 200 million euros ($234.6 million) in trade surplus for last year.
The trade surplus French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Ave noted, was due to a six percentage points decrease in imports from France coupled with a 30 percentage points increase in exports to France by Ghana.
“Ghana earned over 200 million euros as surplus in trade balance last year and this is because imports from France decreased by 6% and exports from Ghana to France increased by 30%,” she noted.
“At the moment France and the EU are in partnership to deepen trade ties with Ghana,” she added.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) June 2021 Statistical Bulletin, recorded trade surplus for the year 2020 amounted to $392 million.
This then implies that the little over $234.6 million earned from trading activities with France accounted for 59.8 percent of total trade surplus.
Ghana mainly supplies oil to France, and also agricultural products and food. It is now the fifth supplier in sub-Saharan Africa for France.
France exports mainly metallurgical products, refined petroleum products, food products and engineering equipment to Ghana.
Speaking about investments made in Ghana by France through French companies, Ambassador Sophie Ave noted France’s biggest investment in Ghana was through the over $1.5 billion Tema Port Expansion project facilitated by French company Bolloré Transport & Logistics and APM Terminals with support from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).
“The $1.5 billion investment in the Tema Port expansion project with Bolloré Transport & Logistics investing over $500 million with support from the World Bank is our [France] biggest investment in Ghana. The country has a good business climate and is an attractive investment destination on the continent for French companies,” she stated.
According to her, the huge investments made by French countries in the country is due to Ghana’s good business climate and attractiveness as an investment destination on the continent.
There are currently more than 70 French companies established in the country in a large range of sectors, 60 of them being established as subsidiaries, and 15 being established as their own.
This includes agriculture, banking, insurance, construction, logistics, oil and gas, hotel and restaurants.
The well-known French companies have established subsidiaries in Ghana such as: Société Générale, Total, Technip, Pernod Ricard, Alstom, Bolloré, CMA-CGM, Air Liquide, and L’Oréal. Companies like Golden Exotics (La Compagnie Fruitière) or GREL are large employers in the country.
The activity of French companies in Ghana has contributed to the creation of around 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.
