Ghana’s Gold Board (GOLDBOD) has been credited with disrupting the long-standing dominance of foreign buyers in the country’s gold trading market, following the rollout of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).
In an opinion piece published on December 31, 2025, entrepreneur and economic policy analyst, Senyo K. Hosi, argued that the establishment of GOLDBOD marked a turning point in Ghana’s ability to retain value from its gold resources and curb entrenched foreign control over artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold trade.
According to Hosi, prior to GOLDBOD’s creation, a significant portion of Ghana’s gold output was lost through smuggling and foreign-controlled trade channels. Citing United Nations COMTRADE data, he noted that the United Arab Emirates imported about US$7.1 billion worth of gold from Ghana in 2022 and 2023, while Ghana officially reported only US$4.8 billion over the same period. This gap, he explained, suggested that nearly one-third of Ghana’s gold production left the country unaccounted for, largely through foreign buyers operating outside official structures.
Hosi explained that GOLDBOD entered the market with an aggressive pricing strategy, purchasing gold from licensed ASM miners at or near world market prices to undercut foreign buyers who typically offered prices one to two per cent below international rates. He said this approach was deliberately designed “to break the entrenched foreign dominance in Ghana’s gold trading market,” adding that without such a strategy, GOLDBOD “would have struggled immensely to penetrate” the sector.
The analyst attributed the sharp rise in officially recorded gold exports to this intervention, noting that ASM gold export volumes increased from 63.6 metric tonnes in 2024 to 101 metric tonnes as of December 23, 2025. He stressed that the gains were driven by reduced smuggling and improved accounting rather than a sudden increase in production, concluding that GOLDBOD’s actions have enabled Ghana to reclaim control over its gold trade and derive broader national benefits from the value chain.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
