UK-Ghana trade exceeds GBP1.6 billion as both countries seek greater growth

The trade relationship between Ghana and the United Kingdom (UK) has surpassed GBP1.6 billion, with significant opportunities still available to expand bilateral trade and investment, Alastair Long, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa, has said.

Speaking in an interview with the media at the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce’s (UKGCC) UK-Ghana Trade and Investment Summit 2026, themed “A Decade of Trust, A Future Always On: Scaling the UK-Ghana Growth Partnership,” His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner said the existing trade relationship provides a strong foundation for deeper economic cooperation between the two countries.

He noted that the UK is particularly interested in expanding trade across multiple sectors while ensuring that increased commercial activity translates into jobs, investment and sustainable livelihoods in both economies.

Alastair Long highlighted Ghanaian agricultural exports to the UK as an important part of the relationship, pointing to products such as mangoes and bananas that are increasingly available to British consumers.

He said the two countries have the opportunity to build on their existing trade framework by increasing the flow of Ghanaian exports to the UK while also creating greater opportunities for UK businesses to invest and expand in Ghana.

According to him, the future of the partnership will increasingly include technology, services, agriculture, and investment, alongside traditional areas of trade.

Alastair Long stressed that the ultimate value of the relationship should be measured not only by the volume of trade but also by the economic opportunities and jobs created behind the figures.

Transforming Trust into Investment and Shared Prosperity

Delivering a keynote address on behalf of Vice President, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Hon. Sampson Ahi, described the UK-Ghana Trade & Investment Summit 2026 as a pivotal moment in the evolution of the UK-Ghana economic relationship and a platform for converting a decade of cooperation into tangible investment outcomes. 

He highlighted Ghana's strong economic performance, noting that the country recorded 6 per cent GDP growth in 2025, while the economy expanded by a further 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2026. He said the figures demonstrate that Ghana is stable, predictable and ready to attract investment. 

“These numbers tell every investor in this room that Ghana is predictable, Ghana is stable, and Ghana is ready,” he stated.

Hon. Ahi further underscored the strength of UK-Ghana commercial relations, revealing that UK foreign direct investment in Ghana has reached GBP1.8 billion, supporting more than 670 projects and creating over 44,000 jobs across Ghana’s economy. He also highlighted the recently signed UK-Ghana Growth Partnership for 2026-2028, describing it as a practical roadmap for unlocking investment opportunities and accelerating industrial growth.

Calling for deeper collaboration in manufacturing, logistics, agro-processing, healthcare and the digital economy, he urged investors to take advantage of Ghana's strategic location, growing workforce and preferential access to African markets through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 

To investors gathered, he urged, “Bring your technology. Bring your patient capital. Bring your demand for quality and sustainability. In return, we offer a stable policy environment, a government that listens, and a people whose ingenuity has never been in short supply.” 

Further calls for a Stronger Partnership

For her part, Her Excellency the Ghana High Commissioner to the UK and Republic of Ireland, Sabah Zita Benson, called for a stronger Ghana-UK economic partnership focused on investment, value addition, technology transfer, skills development, and job creation.

Speaking at the Summit, she said the UKGCC’s 10 years of existence should serve as a foundation for a stronger partnership between the two countries’ business communities, translating into tangible economic opportunities for citizens.

“Ghana is increasingly looking towards partnerships that promote investments in industrialisation, value addition, technology transfer, skills development and job creation,” she said.

She highlighted Ghana’s strategic position in West Africa and its role as host of the AfCFTA Secretariat as major opportunities for UK investors seeking access to the wider African market.

Benson also urged stronger business-to-business connections and greater support for SMEs, while encouraging the Ghanaian diaspora in the UK to leverage its expertise, networks and investment capacity to support development back home.

“The next decade of UK-Ghana economic relations should consequently be defined not simply by the volume of trade between our countries, but by the quality and impact of our partnerships, the businesses we build, the jobs we create, the skills we develop, the technologies we transfer, and the prosperity we generate together,” she said.

UKGCC: 10 years of Promoting Trade Between Ghana and the UK

The UKGCC is currently celebrating its 10th year anniversary.  For its Executive Director, Adjoba Kyiamah, it has been 10 years of developing and hosting impactful platforms to advance trade between Ghana and the UK.  This summit is one of those platforms, now in its second consecutive year. 

Kyiamah said the 3-day summit is focused on advancing the UK–Ghana Growth Partnership by translating policy alignment into commercially viable private-sector investments, with tangible impact on Ghana’s economy. 

Kyiamah also hoped that indigenous Ghanaian businesses would utilise the UK as a launchpad to expand internationally and even evolve into global companies with the UKGCC’s support.

“The UK-Ghana trade partnership works both ways.  We want to see more Ghanaian businesses using the UK to access capital, expertise, markets, and global networks as they scale beyond Ghana.  The UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce is best placed to facilitate this,” she said.

The three-day UK-Ghana Trade and Investment Summit 2026 is being supported by leading institutions and businesses, including GCB Bank PLC, PwC Ghana LTD., UK Government-funded Ghana Jobs for Economic Transformation (JET), Fidelity Bank Ghana LTD., Ecobank Ghana PLC, Vivo Energy Ghana LTD., Quao Realty, DMA Invest, Aqua Africa, Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC, UniChem Ghana LTD., Kasapreko PLC, and media partner, The Business Year.