The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has urged the government to simplify registration and licensing procedures for small, high-frequency cross-border traders and integrate data systems across border institutions as part of measures outlined in its latest informal cross-border trade survey.
The recommendations were presented during the release of the Informal Cross-Border Trade (ICBT) Survey for the first three quarters of 2025, which also called for upgrading roads, markets and facilities at busy border crossings, including Paga in the Upper East Region and crossings in the Volta Region.
GSS further recommended linking the data systems of the Ghana Statistical Service, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Customs Division and the Ghana Immigration Service so that border data can be captured once and shared across the three institutions. It also proposed designing services and financing that respond to the needs of both women and men engaged in cross-border trade.
The Service’s recommendations follow findings showing that informal trade remains a major part of Ghana’s trade with its three neighbouring countries,Togo, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire.
According to the survey, informal cross-border trade was valued at GH¢31 billion between January and September 2025, representing 6% of Ghana’s total trade during the period. Informal trade with the three neighbouring countries also exceeded formal trade, with informal trade amounting to GH¢31 billion compared with GH¢20.1 billion recorded through formal channels.
The survey found that Ghana’s trade with Togo was largely informal throughout the period, with the informal share increasing from 70.5% in the first quarter to 77.8% in the third quarter. Informal trade also accounted for more than three-fifths of Ghana’s trade with Côte d’Ivoire across all three quarters.
Trade with Burkina Faso shifted during the period. While formal trade accounted for nearly 58% of total trade in the first quarter, informal trade represented more than 52% in both the second and third quarters.
Ghana maintained an informal trade surplus throughout the three quarters, although the surplus narrowed sharply from GH¢665.3 million in the second quarter to GH¢49.3 million in the third quarter.
The survey also pointed to changes in the composition of trade. Cooking oil remained the largest informal food import throughout the period despite a gradual decline in its share, while alcoholic drinks, soft drinks and energy drinks together accounted for about 30% of informal food exports to neighbouring countries.
Tricycles were the most common means of transporting goods across the borders, accounting for the largest share of both informal exports and imports during the period.
Regionally, the Volta, North East, Northern and Oti regions consistently recorded trade deficits, receiving higher volumes of informal imports than exports.
The survey also showed that Ghana’s food trade deficit with its neighbouring countries widened over the period, increasing from about GH¢400 million in the first quarter to around GH¢800 million in the third quarter. At the same time, the country’s non-food trade surplus narrowed from about GH¢1 billion to GH¢800 million.
Beyond government reforms, GSS encouraged investment in local production and value chains in border regions, greater use of trade data to support sourcing and food security planning, and stronger customs cooperation and data sharing with neighbouring countries under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Service also called for continued support for quarterly digital measurement of informal cross-border trade and proposed that the survey be developed into a permanent trade monitoring system.
