Ghana imported GH¢10 billion worth of pump parts from South Africa in the second quarter of 2026, as imports from the country surged and contributed significantly to Ghana’s trade balance with Africa swinging into a GH¢4.4 billion deficit.
According to the latest Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) trade statistics, Ghana imported GH¢23.6 billion worth of goods from African countries between April and June, compared with exports of GH¢19.2 billion.
This marked a sharp reversal from the first quarter, when Ghana recorded a GH¢12.3 billion trade surplus with the continent.
The GH¢10 billion pump-parts import from South Africa accounted for 42.5% of Ghana’s total imports from Africa, making it by far the largest individual product imported from the continent during the quarter.
South Africa supplied GH¢11.8 billion, representing 50% of Ghana’s total imports from Africa, and became the country’s largest African source of imports.
The GSS data show that 92.3% of Ghana’s imports from South Africa were machinery and electrical equipment, with pump parts accounting for the largest share of this trade.
The size of the South African shipment had a substantial effect on Ghana’s regional trade balance. Without the GH¢10 billion pump-parts import, Ghana’s imports from Africa would have been about GH¢13.6 billion, leaving the country with an estimated GH¢5.6 billion surplus based on the quarter’s export value.
Other major imports from Africa were largely petroleum products, with crude petroleum accounting for 17.4%, super petrol 8.3%, gas oil 7.0%, and jet fuel 3.8%.
Together with pump parts, these five products accounted for about 79% of Ghana’s imports from Africa during the quarter.
Ghana’s exports to Africa, meanwhile, were led by gold bullion, which accounted for 56.4% of exports to the continent, valued at about GH¢10.8 billion.
South Africa was also Ghana’s largest export destination in Africa, receiving GH¢10.8 billion worth of Ghanaian goods during the quarter.
The composition of trade between the two countries was sharply different. Gold accounted for 99.8% of Ghana’s exports to South Africa, while machinery and electrical equipment dominated Ghana’s imports from the country.
The Q2 figures therefore show South Africa’s growing importance in Ghana’s African trade, with the country emerging as a major destination for Ghanaian gold while supplying a significant share of the machinery and industrial equipment Ghana imported from the continent.
