Fuel remains Ghana’s largest import item despite the country being an oil-producing nation, highlighting what the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) describes as a major opportunity for domestic value addition and import substitution.
According to the GSS report, Ghana’s Merchandise Trade, 2004–2025: Two Decades in Review, fuel accounted for 26% of all imports in 2025, making it the country’s single largest import category. The report notes that energy products have dominated Ghana’s import bill since 2010.
The report points to a longstanding paradox in Ghana’s trade structure: while the country exports crude oil, it continues to import large volumes of refined petroleum products.
“We ship out crude oil and buy back refined fuel — value we could capture at home,” the report stated.
The findings form part of a broader review of Ghana’s merchandise trade over the last two decades, during which total trade expanded ninefold from $6 billion in 2004 to $52.5 billion in 2025.
Despite the strong growth in exports and the country’s record trade surplus, the report identifies the fuel import bill as one of the key structural challenges facing the economy.
As part of its policy recommendations, the GSS called for efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on imported refined fuel by strengthening domestic refining capacity where economically viable. The report listed cutting the refined-fuel bill as one of four major priorities needed to translate trade growth into long-term economic transformation.
“Fuel is 26% of imports while Ghana exports crude. Strengthen domestic refining where viable,” the report recommended.
The statistical agency argued that increasing domestic refining would allow Ghana to retain more value within the economy, reduce pressure on foreign exchange demand, and lessen dependence on imported petroleum products.
Policymakers were urged to support domestic refining, alongside value addition in gold and cocoa, faster customs clearance and lower transport costs.
The report further stressed the need for Ghana to “make more and import less,” urging the country to refine its own fuel and produce more of the goods it currently imports.
The findings come as Ghana seeks to leverage its natural resource base to drive industrialisation and improve the quality of export earnings while reducing the economy’s exposure to external shocks.
Citinewsroom
