Ghana recorded a trade surplus with Britain for the first time last year, a senior trade official said recently. Kofi Sakyiamah, Director of Exports at the Ministry of Trade, told the Ghana News Agency that Ghana exported 194.2 million sterling worth of goods to Britain against imports of 190.6 million sterling in 1994. He said Ghana's exports were mainly gold, cocoa and cocoa products, wood and wood products, cassava chips, minerals as well as horticultural and marine products.

Imports from Britain comprised industrial products, equipment and machinery, tea, coffee and consumer goods. Sakyiamah attributed the favourable trade balance to Ghana's decade-long economic recovery programme guided by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

This was complemented by an export drive in the mining sector, the rehabilitation of infrastructure and greater access to foreign and local capital. "Improvements in the prices of the nation's exports, notably gold and cocoa, on the world market gave an added value to our foreign earnings," he said.

Sakyiamah said a Ghanaian-British trade fair on May 22-26 would give greater dimension to trade relations between Ghana and its former colonial ruler. "Unlike in previous cases where we organised our own fairs and invited other countries to participate, this one has two countries exhibiting their products side by side at the same time."

This would enhance Ghana's total market potential and "expose British firms to the various commodities and goods available on the Ghanaian market as well as other areas of possible investment," he added.