Ghana joined the ranks of oil producing countries one year ago, December 15, 2010.
And according to the Bank of Ghana, in the 11 months of 2011, the country has imported crude oil to the tune of $1.2 billion while imports of oil products were $1.4 billion, amounting to a total of $2.6 billion.
Addressing the media in Accra Wednesday December 21, 2011, the governor of the central bank, Mr. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur said, “Crude oil imports amounted to $1.2 billion while imports of oil products were $1.4 billion. Import of gas through the West African Gas Pipeline was estimated at $136.9 million.”
He said the balance of trade data shows a provisional deficit of $2.6 billion for the first eleven months of 2011 compared with $2.4 billion for the corresponding period in 2010.
Total merchandise exports, he said, increased to $11.8 billion in 2011, representing a growth of 64.7 per cent over the value for the same period in 2010.
“The strong export growth was driven by gold and cocoa beans with a boost from crude oil”, he said.
The value of crude oil exports over the same period amounted to $2.6 billion, while exports of gold and cocoa beans were $4.5 billion and $1.9 billion respectively, the governor said.
According to Mr. Amissah-Arthur, total merchandise imports since the beginning of 2011 amounted to $14.4 billion, representing an annual growth of 49.9 per cent.
Total non-oil imports, classified according to the Basic Economic Classification (BEC) or end-use, amounted to $11.6 billion, with the value of capital goods estimated at $2.5 billion, and consumption goods, he said, amounted to $2.7 billion; Intermediate imports, $5.6 billion and other goods, $770 million, he indicated.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi