Non-Traditional Export Earnings Dip to $3.83bn in 2024 – GEPA
Ghana recorded $3.83 billion in non-traditional export (NTE) earnings for the year 2024, representing a 2.87% decline compared to the previous year, the Ghana Exports Promotion Authority (GEPA) has announced.
The marginal dip in earnings, according to GEPA Chief Executive Francis Kojo Kwarteng Arthur, was largely due to a fall in the export of iron and steel products to the ECOWAS sub-region.
“In 2024, Ghana’s NTEs recorded earnings of $3.83 billion, reaching 152 countries, however, we registered encouraging gains in several other sectors,” Mr Arthur disclosed at the launch of the 2024 Annual NTE Statistics Report.
Despite the overall decline, the manufacturing and semi-processed sectors remained dominant, accounting for over 83% of total NTE earnings. Cocoa paste emerged as a standout performer, registering a growth rate of 35.54% on the back of increased demand from Europe and North America.
GEPA noted that this underscores Ghana’s growing competitive advantage in the export of value-added cocoa products.
The agricultural sector’s contribution to NTEs increased to 13.48%, while the Industrial Arts and Crafts sector posted robust growth of nearly 23%, signalling a rising global interest in Ghana’s creative and cultural exports.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Samson Ahi, urged stakeholders across the value chain to intensify efforts towards value addition, stressing its critical role in boosting export earnings and industrial development.
GEPA further revealed its commitment to scaling up interventions under the Accelerated Export Development Programme (AEDP) to strengthen Ghana’s non-traditional export capacity and market access in line with government’s export-led industrialisation agenda.
