The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has released the Informal Cross-Border Trade (ICBT) Report for the fourth quarter of 2024, providing one of the most comprehensive analyses of trade flows occurring outside Ghana’s formal customs systems. Covering October to December 2024, the report sheds light on how informal trade continues to shape Ghana’s regional economy, employment, and food security, particularly in border communities where small-scale commerce sustains livelihoods.

During this period, informal cross-border trade amounted to GH¢7.4 billion, accounting for 4.3% of Ghana’s total trade (GH¢165.3 billion). Informal exports represented 4.1% of total exports, while informal imports made up 4.7% of total imports.

Ghana recorded:

• A trade surplus with Burkina Faso (GH¢576 million) and Côte d’Ivoire (GH¢378 million)
• A trade deficit with Togo (GH¢539 million)

These figures demonstrate that informal trade is far from marginal—it forms a vital part of Ghana’s real economy, driving regional integration and supporting thousands of traders and households.

Trade Composition and Regional Patterns

• Top exports included alcoholic and soft drinks, petrol, energy drinks, roofing sheets, and second-hand clothes, collectively exceeding GH¢750 million.
• Top imports were cooking oil (GH¢270.5 million), mattresses (GH¢171 million), rice (GH¢142 million), and livestock (GH¢159 million).
• Food products accounted for nearly half (49.6%) of all informal imports, underscoring their central role in regional food supply chains.
• The Upper East Region was Ghana’s leading informal export corridor (GH¢1.27 billion), fifteen times higher than the least active region, Savannah (GH¢82.9 million).
• Paga emerged as the most used border for informal imports, while the Volta and Northern regions also recorded high trade activity.
• Gender roles in informal trade revealed that men dominate export transport (65.7%), while women are significantly engaged in imports (41.3%), especially in northern and western corridors.
• Motorbikes and tricycles were the dominant transport means, highlighting the small-scale yet high-frequency nature of informal trade flows.

Policy Challenges and Opportunities

While informal trade ensures cross-border food access, employment, and income generation, it also presents regulatory challenges — limited data, weak border infrastructure, poor trader protection, and loss of tax revenue.

To optimise its benefits and strengthen Ghana’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the report recommends five key policy priorities:

1. Formalise and support informal traders through simplified registration, access to finance, and capacity building.
2. Invest in border infrastructure and data systems to enhance security, efficiency, and trade monitoring.
3. Promote domestic production of high-import goods such as cooking oil, rice, and livestock to improve Ghana’s trade balance.
4. Deepen regional cooperation with Togo, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire to harmonise customs systems and share real-time data.
5. Empower women in trade by creating gender desks, improving financial inclusion, and involving women traders in policy consultations.

The GSS stresses that informal trade should not be ignored or penalised, but integrated into national trade strategies. Recognising its economic and social value can help design policies that make trade safer, more efficient, and more inclusive.

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