Fuel import prices in Ghana jumped 54.1% in the second quarter of 2026, helping push overall import prices up 22.7% and putting fresh pressure on the cost of goods and inputs coming into the country.
The increase was more than five times the 4% rise in export prices over the same period, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The figures highlight a widening price gap between what Ghana pays for imports and the prices it receives for its exports, even as the country maintained a nominal trade surplus of GH¢13.8 billion in the quarter.
The rise in import prices also came alongside a sharp increase in the value of goods purchased from abroad. Ghana’s imports rose 47.5% quarter-on-quarter to GH¢94.7 billion, from GH¢64.2 billion in the first quarter.
Fuel was a major part of that import bill. Mineral fuels and oils accounted for 30% of total imports during the quarter, making movements in international fuel prices particularly important for Ghana’s import costs.
The GSS data shows that the pressure was not limited to fuel. Ghana’s overall import unit value index, which measures changes in the prices of imported goods, rose from 187.4 in the first quarter to 229.9 in the second quarter.
By comparison, the export unit value index increased from 392.5 to 408.2.
That means Ghana was facing a much faster increase in the prices of goods it bought from abroad than in the prices of goods it sold overseas.
For businesses that rely on imported fuel, machinery, vehicle parts, equipment and other inputs, that can translate into higher landed and operating costs. How much of that pressure eventually reaches consumers, however, will depend on the extent to which businesses absorb the increases or pass them through to their prices.
The composition of imports provides another indication of where the pressure is coming from.
Gas oil was Ghana’s largest import product in the quarter, valued at GH¢12.2 billion, followed by pump parts at GH¢10.1 billion, super petrol at GH¢8.0 billion and crude petroleum at GH¢5.8 billion.
Together, the four products accounted for more than a third of Ghana’s total import bill.
The increase in import prices is also significant when viewed against Ghana’s overall trade position.
Although the country recorded a GH¢13.8 billion trade surplus in the second quarter, the surplus fell sharply from GH¢46.1 billion in the first quarter as imports grew much faster than exports.
Exports stood at GH¢108.5 billion in the second quarter, down 1.6% from GH¢110.3 billion in the first quarter.
The difference becomes even clearer when price effects are removed. In real terms, Ghana recorded a trade deficit of GH¢14.6 billion in the second quarter, compared with a deficit of GH¢6.2 billion in the first quarter.
The latest figures therefore point to a trade position being supported heavily by export values and prices, particularly gold, while the cost of imports is rising much faster.
With fuel accounting for nearly a third of the import bill and fuel import prices rising by more than half in a single quarter, changes in import costs remain an important pressure point for businesses that depend on foreign goods and inputs.
