• GDP: US$12 billion (2006).
• Main exports: Gold, cocoa, timber, bauxite and diamonds.
• Main imports: Industrial raw materials, equipment, petroleum and food.
• Main trade partners: Nigeria, USA, Togo, UK and Germany.

Most of the population works in agriculture, producing subsistence and cash crops. The most important of the latter is cocoa, of which Ghana is one of the world's major producers. Ghana has suffered from consistently low world prices, but in 2003/4, it became the second largest producer of cocoa in the world for the first time in 30 years.

The country's main industry is mining, particularly for diamonds and gold, and this is both a major employer and an important foreign currency earner.

The state has tried to cushion the economy's vulnerability through intervention and subsidies. Since 2001 the Kufuor administration has achieved some success in stabilising the macroeconomy through the introduction of tighter economic policies. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2004; however inflation remains a major internal problem.

Ghana is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Appointments are customary and visitors should always be punctual for meetings. Best time for business visits is from September to April.

Office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and 1300-1700.

Ghana National Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 2325, Accra, Ghana
Tel: (21) 662 427.
Website: www.g77tin.org/gncchp.html