Gold Trade Losses: Ghana must look beyond the $1.7 billion figure

Ghana incurred a $1.7 billion loss from gold trading in 2025, compared with about $400 million in 2024, amid a significant surge in the country’s gold trade volume.

While the figures have triggered considerable public debate, the focus, in my view, should go beyond the headline loss figure.

The more important question is: What exactly accounted for these losses, and what can Ghana do to reduce them, if possible?

Gold trading involves several components and costs, and a proper assessment should examine each of them to determine what contributed to the reported losses.

Rather than treating the $1.7 billion figure in isolation, policymakers, economists and stakeholders in the gold industry must break down the numbers and establish whether the losses arose from pricing differences, financing costs, operational expenses, foreign-exchange movements, transaction costs or other factors associated with the gold trading programme.

This is important because Ghana's gold sector remains one of the country's most significant sources of foreign exchange.

The objective should therefore not simply be to determine whether there was a loss, but to understand why the loss occurred, whether any part of it was unavoidable, and what can be done to prevent a recurrence or significantly reduce it.

A transparent and detailed analysis would also help the public distinguish between genuine financial losses and costs that may have been incurred as part of a broader policy objective.

Ultimately, the conversation should move from “Ghana lost $1.7 billion” to the more constructive question:

What made up the $1.7 billion, and how can Ghana improve the economics of its gold trade?

That, in my view, is the debate worth having.