Ginger, shrimps and mango recorded the steepest price increases among consumer goods in June, highlighting sharp price swings across Ghana’s food markets even as overall inflation remained relatively moderate.
Data released by the Ghana Statistical Service showed the price of ginger more than doubled over the past year, rising 102.5%, making it the fastest-rising item in the Consumer Price Index basket.
Shrimps followed with an annual inflation rate of 90.8%, while mango prices climbed 87.2%, reflecting significant increases in selected fresh produce and seafood.
Other items posting strong annual price growth included banana (47.8%), avocado pear (43.8%), fresh coconut (39.3%), palm fruits (37.8%), cashew (29.8%) and dried fish (koobi) (29.2%).
Despite these sharp increases, the June inflation report also showed that not all food prices were moving in the same direction.
Several widely consumed staples became significantly cheaper over the year. Kontomire (Alefu) recorded the largest annual decline at 38.0%, followed by garden eggs (-33.1%), maize (-32.1%), millet (-23.0%), pawpaw (-22.4%), beans (-21.3%) and guinea corn (-19.3%).
The contrasting price movements illustrate that inflation pressures are becoming increasingly concentrated in specific products rather than spread evenly across the food basket.
Although ginger recorded the highest annual inflation, it was not the largest contributor to overall consumer inflation.
Bus and trotro fares accounted for the biggest share of June’s headline inflation at 10.5%, followed by rent payments (8.4%) and secondary school fees (7.2%). Ginger ranked fourth, contributing 7.0% to overall inflation.
Overall, Ghana’s annual inflation rate rose to 5.3% in June from 3.7% in May. However, the latest item-level data suggest households experienced very different price changes depending on the goods they purchased, with some fresh foods becoming substantially more expensive while others became markedly cheaper.
