The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has highlighted the extension of the export proceeds repatriation period from 60 days to 120 days as a key measure under its revised Operational Guidelines on the Letter of Commitment (LOC) regime, aimed at easing compliance for shippers and exporters while strengthening the monitoring of foreign exchange inflows.

The revised guidelines are intended to streamline export procedures, reduce operational bottlenecks and improve transparency by clarifying the responsibilities of exporters, banks, customs officials, freight forwarders and other stakeholders in the export value chain.

Second Deputy Governor of BoG, Mrs Matilda Asante-Asiedu, said the revisions reflected feedback from exporters, banks and other stakeholders on challenges encountered in complying with LOC requirements.

Speaking at a nationwide LOC sensitisation programme, she said the objective was to make compliance easier, improve consistency and create a more predictable and efficient environment for legitimate trade.

The LOC regime was introduced to facilitate the monitoring of merchandise exports and ensure that export proceeds are repatriated through the formal banking system.

The revised guidelines cover LOC generation, export proceeds repatriation, extension procedures, advance payment arrangements, retention policies and the management of non-conformity cases.

Mrs Asante-Asiedu stressed that compliance and trade facilitation were complementary objectives, adding that the framework should support legitimate business activities rather than hinder them.

She said the timely repatriation of export proceeds was critical to protecting Ghana’s foreign exchange resources, supporting currency stability, financing imports and strengthening macroeconomic resilience.

Ghana earned approximately US$31.2 billion from exports in 2025, recording a trade surplus of about US$13.8 billion. Exports of goods and services accounted for more than 35 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with gold, crude oil and cocoa contributing over 80 per cent of total export earnings.

By June 2026, export earnings had reached approximately US$18.3 billion, contributing to a trade surplus of about US$8.8 billion and supporting the country’s international reserve position.

The Second Deputy Governor said delayed, unrepatriated or unaccounted-for export receipts deprived the economy of resources that could support foreign exchange liquidity, trade financing and national development.

She said the Bank was strengthening monitoring mechanisms, improving data management, increasing automation and upgrading operational platforms to reduce delays and enable stakeholders to meet their obligations more efficiently.

Stakeholder engagements had identified other areas requiring attention, including delays in LOC retirement, exchange rate considerations, third-party payment arrangements, retention account operations, regional trade settlements, Free Zones transactions and the treatment of legitimate shortfalls in export proceeds.

Mrs Asante-Asiedu said the Bank would continue to address these concerns through improvements to monitoring and reporting systems, collaboration with partner institutions and periodic reviews of the operational guidelines.

She also highlighted efforts to improve cross-border payments, particularly for businesses trading with China, through the China Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS).

Stanbic Bank Ghana has become the first bank in Ghana to provide clients with direct access to CIPS following approval from the Bank of Ghana, allowing eligible businesses to settle trade transactions directly in Chinese yuan. GCB Bank PLC is pursuing a similar arrangement.

According to her, such payment channels could reduce transaction costs, minimise reliance on intermediary banks and improve settlement efficiency, complementing the broader objective of strengthening trade competitiveness and the monitoring of export proceeds.

Mrs Asante-Asiedu urged exporters, banks, customs authorities and freight forwarders to work together to implement the revised guidelines, stressing that effective collaboration and transparency were essential to ensuring that Ghana derived the full economic benefits of its international trade.