{
  "id": 16898854,
  "title": "Gold, cocoa and crude export earnings grew strongly in 8 months of 2028, but NTEs declined by 3%",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/gold-cocoa-and-crude-export-earnings-grew-strongly-in-8-months-of-16898854",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-28T11:52:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Joy Business",
    "slug": "joy-business",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/gold-cocoa-and-crude-export-earnings-grew-strongly-in-8-months-of-2028-but-ntes-declined-by-3/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the first eight months of 2028, gold, cocoa, and crude export earnings experienced significant growth, while non-traditional exports (NTEs) declined by 3%. The composite weighted average price index for these commodities rose by 5.6% year-to-date, reaching 261.86 in August 2026. Crude oil led the growth, with a 42.9% increase, followed by gold at 2.1% and cocoa at 1.5%. However, cocoa prices contracted, dampening the overall increase. The country's trade surplus expanded to US$8.80 billion during this period, up from US$6.69 billion in the same period of the previous year. Total export earnings grew by 24.8% to US$22.39 billion, driven by higher prices and export volumes for crude oil and cocoa. Gold exports surged by 32.9% to US$14.86 billion, primarily due to increased safe-haven demand driven by geopolitical uncertainties. Cocoa exports increased by 9.9% to US$2.71 billion, while crude oil exports rose by 32.8% to US$2.42 billion, benefiting from higher global prices. Nevertheless, NTE earnings contracted by 3.0% to US$2.39 billion, reflecting declines across all sub-categories.",
  "summary": "The country’s trade surplus improved significantly to US$8.80 billion during the first eight months of the year, up from US$6.69 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. This was underpinned by robust growth in export earnings that outpaced the rise in imports.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}