Amid the price reduction controversy, there is a convergence between the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) data and the stance of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) over the current drivers of inflation in the country.
GUTA and the trading community have come under criticism lately for keeping prices high despite improved macroeconomic conditions, especially cedi appreciation and slowing inflation.
The trading community insists that prices have indeed cooled, though admitting that not to the expectations of consumers.
The president of GUTA, Joseph Obeng, in an interview, argued that the current inflation levels are not a result of imported goods, since the trading community has responded positively by reducing the prices of imported goods.
He, however, insisted that the drivers of inflation now are the goods that are produced locally. The challenge, he indicated, is the public perception. To him, when people bemoan high prices, they mostly refer to the local products like plantain, yam, etc, and not imported goods.
He further challenged people to sample from the market themselves to verify.
“One thing that people do not differentiate is the prices of the domestic food items; the goods that are produced here locally, the plantains, the yams, and all that. Those goods are still very high. And that’s what about 70% of Ghanaians, when they say that prices are not responding, they talk to. But then for the imported goods, really and truly, if you go to the market to sample before and now, the prices have responded reasonably”, he insisted.
New data from the GSS confirms what traders have long observed. The majority of inflationary pressure in July 2025 stems from locally produced goods, not imports.
Only two imported items, vegetable oil and rice, made it into the top 20 contributors to inflation, while staple domestic products like smoked herrings, yams, and ginger dominate the list
The GSS data reinforces the GUTA president’s point that inflation for domestically produced goods remains stubborn at 12.9% year-on-year, compared to a lower 10% for imported items, even as both categories have seen some easing.
This situation underscores that inflation relief remains uneven and heavily biased toward imports.
Unless targeted efforts are made to tame domestic food prices through improved local production, supply chain efficiency, and distribution, many Ghanaians will continue to see persistent cost-of-living pressures.
