The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is urging businesses to secure critical inputs through forward contracts and bulk purchases and urged authorities to intensify inflation monitoring after producer inflation more than doubled in May, signaling emerging cost pressures across key sectors of the economy.
The recommendations accompanied the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, which showed producer inflation rising to 5.8% in May from 2.7% in April.
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) said the increase points to emerging upward pressure on business input costs that could eventually filter through to consumers if left unchecked.
The agency recommended that businesses adopt cautious pricing strategies to protect profitability while remaining competitive, warning that rising costs in major productive sectors warrant close monitoring.
Government was also advised to strengthen inflation surveillance across supply chains, particularly in mining, transport and manufacturing, to assess the risk of cost increases being passed on to consumers.
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For households, GSS recommended comparing prices across retail outlets and taking advantage of promotions and discounts, especially for household and durable goods, to mitigate the impact of potential price increases.
The rise in producer inflation was driven largely by the industry sector, where inflation increased to 5.1% in May from 2.2% in April.
Mining and quarrying, the largest component of the producer price basket, recorded inflation of 11%, up sharply from 5.6% the previous month. The extraction of crude oil and natural gas posted the highest increase within the sector, reaching 18.8%.
The construction sector also experienced a significant rise in production costs. Inflation climbed to 4.3% from 0.9% in April, with building construction recording 5.4% inflation and utility projects, including water and energy infrastructure, rising by 15.6%.
The services sector returned to positive territory after recording negative inflation in April. Producer inflation rose to 1.8% from negative 1.3%, led by an 87.9% increase in motion picture, television and music production activities.
Transport-related services also recorded substantial increases, with land transport inflation reaching 23.8% and air transport services rising to 10.3%.
Producer inflation measures changes in prices received by producers before goods and services reach consumers and is widely viewed as a leading indicator of future consumer inflation.
The latest figures suggest that while producer price growth remains relatively moderate by historical standards, rising costs in mining, construction and transport could create additional inflationary pressures in the coming months if businesses begin passing higher operating expenses on to customers.
