BTA Admin Ghana’s informal cross-border trade reached GH¢31 billion during the first three quarters of 2025, exceeding the country’s formal trade with neighboring West African countries and underscoring the growing economic significance of commerce that has long operated outside official statistics.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), informal trade accounted for approximately 6% of Ghana’s total trade between January and September 2025, with transactions involving Togo, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire surpassing the GH¢20.1 billion recorded through formal trade channels over the same period.
The findings were contained in the GSS’s latest Informal Cross-Border Trade Survey, which monitored trading activity across 206 active border points in 10 regions.
Presenting the report in Accra, Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu described informal cross-border commerce as a critical pillar of Ghana’s economy that has historically remained largely invisible in official economic data.
“For years, informal cross-border trade went almost entirely uncounted—a blind spot in Ghana’s official economy. Yet it feeds families, sustains jobs and keeps markets stocked on both sides of the border,” he said.
Informal trade dominates regional commerce
The survey shows that trade with several neighboring countries is increasingly taking place outside formal customs channels.
Trade with Togo remained overwhelmingly informal throughout the survey period, rising from 70.5% of total trade in the first quarter to 77.8% by the third quarter.
More than 60% of Ghana’s trade with Côte d’Ivoire also took place through informal channels, while commerce with Burkina Faso shifted from being largely formal at the beginning of the year to predominantly informal in subsequent quarters.
The findings suggest that thousands of small-scale traders continue to rely on informal trading routes due to lower costs, faster movement of goods and fewer administrative requirements compared with formal trade systems.
Agriculture and food dominate trade flows
The report found that Burkina Faso remained the largest destination for Ghana’s agricultural exports, accounting for nearly 63% of informal agricultural trade during the period.
Meanwhile, Togo emerged as the leading destination for fuel, food and beverage exports while simultaneously serving as Ghana’s largest source of informal imports.
Among exported products, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and energy drinks accounted for around 30% of informal food exports.
On the import side, cooking oil remained the country’s largest informal food import.
Transportation patterns also highlighted the highly decentralized nature of the sector.
Tricycles were identified as the most commonly used means of transporting goods across Ghana’s borders, handling exports valued at approximately GH¢2 billion and imports worth about GH¢1.7 billion each quarter.
Food import dependence raises concern
While Ghana maintained an overall informal trade surplus during the survey period, that surplus narrowed significantly.
The country’s surplus fell from GH¢665.3 million in the second quarter to just GH¢49.3 million in the third quarter.
At the same time, Ghana’s trade deficit with Togo widened steadily, increasing from GH¢725.5 million in the first quarter to GH¢994.1 million by the end of the third quarter.
One of the report’s biggest concerns was Ghana’s growing dependence on imported food products.
The country’s informal food trade deficit doubled from GH¢400 million in the first quarter to roughly GH¢800 million by the third quarter of 2025.
Dr. Iddrisu said the findings reinforce the need for greater investment in domestic food production and agricultural value chains, particularly in border communities.
“We need to target the goods that dominate flows such as rice, cooking oil and livestock, and invest in local production and value chains in border regions,” he said.
Calls for policy reforms
The Ghana Statistical Service believes the survey provides important evidence for policymakers seeking to strengthen regional trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The agency recommended simplifying business registration and licensing procedures for small-scale traders, improving border infrastructure, strengthening coordination among border agencies and institutionalising regular monitoring of informal trade.
The report also calls for greater investment in domestic agricultural production to reduce dependence on imported food while helping informal traders transition into the formal economy.
Conducted with support from the Government of Ghana, the World Bank through the Harmonising and Improving Statistics in West Africa Project (HISWAP), and agencies including the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Immigration Service, the survey provides one of the most comprehensive pictures yet of informal trade’s contribution to Ghana’s economy.
Ghana’s GH¢31 billion informal cross-border trade industry has become a major driver of regional commerce, now exceeding formal trade with neighboring countries and supporting thousands of livelihoods.
The findings highlight the growing importance of bringing informal traders into the formal economy through better policies, improved border infrastructure and stronger support for domestic production, while positioning Ghana to capture more value from regional trade under the AfCFTA.
