Ghana is the world’s second-biggest cocoa supplier. (Photo by Paul Ninson / Bloomberg)
Ghana’s economy expanded at the fastest pace since the third quarter of last year after its gold and cocoa industries exited contractions.
Gross domestic product grew an annual 5.3% in the three months through March, compared with 3.6% in the prior quarter, Government Statistician Alhassan Iddrisu told reporters in the capital, Accra, on Wednesday.
The data will be welcomed by President John Mahama, who won the December elections after pledging to reset an economy shackled by high inflation, a battered currency and a 2022 debt default.
Africa’s largest gold producer and the world’s second-biggest cocoa supplier has benefited from a surge in demand for the metal amid increased global uncertainty and a dramatic spike in the price of the beans used to make chocolate because of shortages.
A stack of gold bars. (Photo by Milan Jaros/Bloomberg)
Gold exports advanced 76% to $5.2 billion in the first four months of the year and cocoa shipments more than tripled to $1.8 billion, boosting the nation’s foreign reserves and the cedi. It’s appreciated 43% this year against the dollar, making it the world’s best-performing currency.
The industry sector, which includes mining, grew 3.4% in the first quarter from 0.2% in the prior three months driven by an increase in gold production. Gold grew 5.6% after contracting 2.2% in the prior quarter.
The cocoa sector exited six quarters of contraction to expand 3.4%, boosting the agriculture industry, which employs about 40% of the West African nation’s workforce.
It expanded 6.6% in the period from 2.9% in the prior three months. The services sector expanded 5.9% from 6.3% in the fourth quarter, Iddrisu said.
The economy is likely to continue to get a boost from the stronger cedi that’s helped rein in inflation. It slowed to a three-year low of 18.4% in May from 21.2% the previous month, creating room for the central bank to begin cutting interest rates, which could stimulate consumer spending.
