GHANA PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

The Effect of Newly Found Oil Or Petroleum On A Developing Country

The Effect of Newly Found Oil Or Petroleum On A Developing Country

Introduction

The basis of the economy of Ghana - agriculture, employing more than half the working population is 7 million. Ghana imports used most of the industrial consumer goods, and all industrial equipment. Exports of cocoa and gold provide almost all export earnings. Harvest the main export crops - cocoa beans - depends on weather conditions, and the proceeds of the sale - from price fluctuations on world markets. Gross domestic product (GDP) of Ghana in 1995 was estimated at $ 7.3 billion, or $ 430 per capita (or adjusted to a low level of domestic prices, $ 1,400; those in Côte d' Ivoire is 1500, in Togo - 900 in Burkina Faso - $ 700). Since the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, Ghana's economy grew rapidly during the period 1955-1974 annual GDP growth averaged 4%. After 1974 the economy has deteriorated significantly, and until the mid-1980s, continued deep recession. The relative economic recovery began in 1984 and until 1995 the average annual growth rate of 4.7%. The annual population growth over the same period was estimated at about 3%, therefore, GDP per capita amounted to approx. 1.5%. In 1995, nearly half of government revenue was derived from the export of agricultural products and timber, approx. 14% - from industrial production and construction work, the rest - from trade and services (Akiner, Aldis, 2004, p. 5).

The basis of Ghana's agriculture is the cultivation of cocoa beans. In 1996, about a third of arable land was occupied under the chocolate trees, the percentage of cocoa beans in the total export earnings was 31%. This crop is cultivated mainly in the forest zone in the area of ??small farms 2.1 hectares. Farmers are selling cocoa beans, either individually or through cooperatives often state procurement and export company - Office of the cocoa trade in Ghana. Until recently, it was the only way of sales and purchase prices, the company established a. Since the mid-1980s, the price of cocoa beans was so low that almost every fifth crop is smuggled to neighboring countries - Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo. In order to increase the production of cocoa beans, reduce smuggling and improve the financial situation of the peasants in the late 1980-1990-ies by private companies for the purchase of cocoa beans have more freedom. However, the state retains a leading position (75%) in the export of cocoa beans and maintains strict control over product quality. In 1995 the harvest of cocoa beans in Ghana amounted to 309 thousand tones, which allowed her to take third place in the world in the production of this crop, second only to Côte d'Ivoire and Brazil (Akiner, Aldis, 2004, p. 5). In the 1960s, Ghana was the world's leading producer of cocoa beans, and in 1964 was a record harvest - 557 thousand tons in the 1970s, the collection of cocoa declined steadily, dropping ...