Ghana’s Services sector recorded a mixed inflation pattern in October 2025, with significant disparities between high-growth sub-sectors such as ICT and media, and declining segments including warehousing, publishing, and accommodation services.
The latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reveals that overall services inflation stood at -0.3 percent, reflecting a general easing of producer prices across the sector.
Despite the negative overall rate, several dynamic service industries, particularly digital media, broadcasting, information services, and transportation showed strong price growth, indicating shifts driven by technological adoption, content demand, and sector-specific cost pressures.
Among the 13 service sub-groups monitored by GSS, the top contributors to rising producer prices in October were: motion picture, video and television production: 51.9%, water transportation: 32.7%, air transportation: 22.6%, programming and broadcasting activities: 11.8%, postal and courier activities: 8.1%, food and beverage service activities: 6.5%
These strong increases highlight rising demand for digital content, higher production costs for local media, and increased operational expenses in aviation and maritime services driven by fuel, equipment, and regulatory requirements.
The recent surge reflects greater investment in high-quality productions, improved camera technology, and rising distribution costs across digital platforms, also the entertainment industry has seen increased viewership due to expanded streaming and online content consumption.
While the digital economy experiences growth, traditional service areas recorded falling producer prices. Major declines came from: warehousing and support transport activities: –12.4%, publishing activities: –7.4%, accommodation services: –3.2% and telecommunications: 0.0% (flat)
These declines reflect reduced storage costs due to improved logistics efficiency, lower demand for printed materials, and continued competition in Ghana’s telecoms market where operators are increasingly moving toward data-driven, high-volume, low-margin pricing.
Hotels and guesthouses also reported slower occupancy levels in October compared to earlier months, influenced by subdued business travel and tighter corporate budgets.
Tourism is recovering, but corporate travel hasn’t fully bounced back. Many firms are cutting costs and opting for virtual meetings instead of lodging-heavy business trips.
Transportation services exhibited sharp contrasts. Land transportation dominated by road transport services recorded a modest 1.9 percent inflation, while air and water transport saw double-digit inflation gains.
This reflects global aviation cost trends, insurance adjustments, rising maintenance costs for airlines, and increased maritime freight charges.
However, warehousing, logistics support, and some freight handling services recorded negative inflation, underscoring the competitive pressure in Ghana’s logistics corridor following infrastructure upgrades and digitalisation of port processes.
Economists say the contrasting inflation movements across services point to structural transformations in Ghana’s economy.
The digital, media, and high-tech service industries continue to expand, while traditional services face pressure from technology, competition, and changing consumer behaviour.
The Services sector continues to be a major contributor to Ghana’s GDP, and changes in services inflation often reflect broader shifts in productivity, investment, and labour dynamics.
Despite the year-on-year volatility, month-on-month services inflation rose slightly to 0.3 percent in October, signalling mild upward adjustments in service pricing.
This suggests that although many service providers are keeping prices low to maintain competitiveness, certain cost elements such as energy, digital infrastructure, and labour are influencing short-term pricing decisions.
The GSS encouraged businesses in the services industry to adopt data-driven strategies to navigate changing price dynamics and strengthen customer engagement.
