Ghana’s Non-Traditional Exports Surge 30%, Hit $5 Billion in 2025
Ghana’s Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness & Industry reported on 18 April 2026 that non-traditional exports reached $5.006 billion in 2025, up from $3.08 billion in 2024. The sector now accounts for about 16% of total merchandise exports, underscoring a gradual diversification away from dependence on cocoa and gold.
Key Takeaways
- Ghana’s non-traditional exports (NTEs) grew over 30% in 2025 to $5.006 billion, up from $3.08 billion in 2024.
- NTEs now represent roughly 16% of Ghana’s total merchandise exports, according to the Trade Ministry’s 18 April 2026 briefing.
- The surge reflects growth in processed foods, horticulture, light manufacturing, and services linked to agribusiness and industry.
- The performance supports Ghana’s economic diversification strategy amid global commodity price volatility and domestic fiscal pressures.
- Sustaining NTE growth will require continued investment in logistics, standards compliance, and trade facilitation.
On 18 April 2026, Ghana’s Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness & Industry announced that the country’s non-traditional exports (NTEs) reached approximately $5.006 billion in 2025, up from $3.08 billion in 2024. This represents an increase of more than 30% year-on-year, and lifts the NTE share of total merchandise exports to around 16%, according to Trade Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, who spoke at a specialised sector meeting.
Non-traditional exports are generally defined as all export products other than Ghana’s main traditional commodities, notably raw cocoa beans, gold, and unprocessed timber. They typically include processed and semi-processed agricultural goods (such as cocoa products, fruits, and vegetables), light manufactured products, textiles and apparel, agrochemicals, plastics, aluminium products, and certain services tied to agribusiness and industry. Growth across these categories indicates progress in Ghana’s long-standing goal of diversifying its export base and capturing more value-added domestically.
The 2025 performance is notable given the headwinds Ghana has faced in recent years, including fiscal strains, currency volatility, and global disruptions. A more than 30% expansion in NTEs suggests that targeted policies—such as export promotion schemes, support for agro-processing zones, and efforts to improve standards compliance for export markets—are starting to yield tangible results. It also reflects rising demand for Ghanaian products in regional and global markets, notably within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
The Trade Minister emphasised that the ongoing expansion of the NTE sector requires sustained support, highlighting the need for improved infrastructure, access to finance, and capacity building for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Many of the fastest-growing NTE firms are SMEs engaged in horticulture, processed foods, and niche manufacturing, which face bottlenecks related to logistics, energy costs, and compliance with international sanitary and phytosanitary standards. Addressing these constraints is essential to maintain momentum.
From a macroeconomic perspective, a stronger NTE sector helps cushion Ghana against volatility in traditional commodity prices. Fluctuations in global cocoa and gold markets have long exposed the Ghanaian economy to boom-and-bust cycles. A more balanced export basket can stabilise foreign exchange earnings, support the currency, and contribute to more predictable fiscal revenues. This is particularly important as Ghana implements adjustment measures and debt restructuring under international financial support programmes.
Regionally, Ghana’s NTE growth positions it as a potential hub for certain value chains within West Africa, especially in agro-processing and light manufacturing. Increased exports of processed agricultural products and manufactured goods can strengthen intra-African trade links, aligning with AfCFTA’s objectives. Success in NTE expansion may also encourage neighbouring countries to pursue similar diversification strategies, fostering a more resilient regional economic architecture.
Outlook & Way Forward
In the short term, Ghana’s challenge will be to consolidate the gains made in 2025. This includes ensuring that exporters can sustain and expand orders in key markets despite global logistical uncertainties and potential trade policy shifts. The government will need to guard against policy reversals or regulatory bottlenecks that could undermine business confidence, and to prioritise efficient port operations, customs processes, and trade finance mechanisms.
Over the medium term, deeper structural reforms will be necessary to embed NTE growth. These include expanding reliable power supply for industrial clusters, investing in cold chain and transport infrastructure for horticultural exports, and enhancing technical and vocational education to meet industrial labour demand. The state may also need to refine its export promotion strategy to target higher value-added segments and encourage clustering of competitive firms in specific value chains.
International partners, including development finance institutions and trade facilitation agencies, are likely to see Ghana’s NTE trajectory as a positive signal and may increase support for export-oriented projects. Key indicators to monitor will be the sectoral breakdown of NTEs (to see which subsectors are driving growth), the evolution of export destinations (particularly intra-African versus global markets), and the degree to which NTE expansion translates into broad-based employment gains. If managed effectively, the 2025 performance could mark the beginning of a more resilient and diversified phase of Ghana’s economic development.
Sources
- OSINT