The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has exported 88 tonnes of gold from the country’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector this year.
The gold, valued at approximately $12 billion, underscores the board’s growing contribution to foreign exchange generation and the country’s economic stability.
The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, disclosed this in the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy presented to Parliament last Thursday.
He highlighted the significant contribution of gold exports to the country’s external reserves and exchange rate performance.
The finance minister said exports from the large-scale mining sector also recorded a strong performance, with a total of 80.64 tonnes valued at $10.23 billion.
Dr Forson explained that the substantial export earnings from both mining sectors had increased foreign exchange supply, strengthened Ghana’s international reserves and supported the stability of the cedi.
The figures highlighted the strategic importance of GoldBod’s operations in mobilising foreign exchange through the formal gold trading system and supporting the country’s broader macroeconomic objectives.
The finance minister further disclosed that the baseline cost of generating foreign exchange and accumulating international reserves had declined significantly from 16 per cent in 2025 to five per cent in 2026.
2% FX generation cost
As part of measures to achieve further reductions in the cost of foreign exchange generation, the government plans to introduce a three per cent discount on small-scale gold purchases in 2027.
The proposed measure, which will be implemented in consultation with industry stakeholders, is expected to reduce the baseline cost of foreign exchange generation and reserve accumulation to two per cent through the GoldBod.
The proposed discount forms part of broader efforts to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of Ghana’s gold purchasing and foreign exchange mobilisation framework.
The proposed intervention is expected to lower the baseline cost of generating foreign exchange and accumulating reserves from five per cent in 2026 to approximately two per cent in 2027, further improving the efficiency of Ghana's gold-backed foreign exchange generation framework.
GoldBod’s contribution to the national economy is anchored in its mandate to regulate, purchase and facilitate the export of gold from Ghana’s small-scale mining sector, while supporting responsible sourcing, traceability and the formalisation of the gold trading industry.
