GoldBod Boosts FX Inflows by $3.8bn, Benefits Far Outweigh BoG Trading Losses
A newly released technical assessment has concluded that the operations of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) have generated substantial macroeconomic gains for the economy, formalising large volumes of gold previously lost to smuggling and significantly improving foreign exchange inflows—benefits that far outweigh the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) reported trading losses.
The report, submitted to GoldBod by economists from the University of Ghana and the University of Ghana Business School, indicates that gold exports from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector rose sharply from 63.6 tonnes in 2024 to 103 tonnes in 2025.
The increase of 39.4 tonnes, the study suggests, largely reflects gold that was previously smuggled out of the country but has now been captured within the formal export system.
At an estimated value of US$96.5 million per tonne, the newly formalised gold translates into roughly US$3.8 billion in foreign exchange inflows.
This, according to the report, represents a benefit–cost ratio of about 18:1 when set against the BoG’s reported trading loss of US$214 million. The economists note that formalising just 2.2 tonnes of gold would be sufficient to offset the reported loss.
Beyond this, the study highlights GoldBod’s role in easing Ghana’s dependence on expensive external financing. In 2025 alone, ASM gold exports channelled through GoldBod generated foreign exchange inflows estimated at US$10.8 billion.
If the government had raised equivalent funding through external borrowing at interest rates of between 7% and 10%, it would have faced annual interest payments ranging from US$756 million to US$1.08 billion.
Even when considering only the gains from reduced smuggling, the report estimates avoided annual interest costs of between US$266 million and US$380 million, creating a sustained and recurring benefit to the economy.
The analysis further outlines a range of broader macroeconomic impacts linked to GoldBod’s activities, including stronger international reserves estimated at about US$11–12 billion, improved exchange-rate stability, a lower domestic cost of servicing external debt of roughly GHS6.2 billion, and a reduced valuation of the import bill—estimated at around GHS50.6 billion between January and October 2025.
These developments, the report adds, have also contributed to disinflation by limiting exchange-rate pass-through effects.
Importantly, the economists clarify that the BoG’s reported “loss” is largely an accounting outcome rather than an actual cash shortfall. GoldBod purchases gold at close to retail foreign exchange rates to discourage smuggling, while the resulting FX inflows are booked at the interbank rate. The study estimates that the true economic cost of this policy amounts to about 2.5% of the value of the gold purchased.
The report therefore argues that GoldBod should be viewed primarily as a macroeconomic stabilisation instrument rather than a profit-seeking commercial entity. It recommends maintaining competitive pricing to deter smuggling, enhancing transparency in central bank reporting, gradually reducing policy-related costs, and strengthening governance and oversight structures.
One of the authors, Prof. Festus Ebo Turkson, stressed that GoldBod “transforms illicit gold flows into formal foreign exchange, reinforces Ghana’s external position, and underpins macroeconomic stability,” adding that the evidence points to a high-return policy intervention for the broader economy.
Overall, the report concludes that prudent management of GoldBod, supported by fiscal discipline and stronger enforcement against smuggling, could help sustain Ghana’s improving foreign exchange position and enhance the country’s long-term economic resilience.
