Source: newsthemegh.com
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has published its first report on the variations in food prices across the 16 regions for the month of May 2023, which shows an inflation rate of 42.2%, up 1% from the previous month’s rate of 41.2%.
The inflation rate for food increased as well, from 48.7% to 51.8%.
However, the inflation rate for non-food products decreased from 35.4% in April to 34.6% in May 2023, while the inflation rate for domestically manufactured goods decreased from 38.2% to 36.2% and rose from 43.1% to 43.8%. This indicates that May 2023’s annual inflation rate is 42.2%.
However, May 2023 saw 4.8% month over month inflation as opposed to the 2.4% rate seen in April 2023.
The monthly rate of food inflation was 4.3%, while May’s rate was 6.2%.
Additionally rising from 0.7% to 3.5% is non-food inflation.
Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, a government statistician, presented the report’s highlights while pointing out that pricing variances between regions are due to commodity-specific factors because the pattern seen is different from the selected food items.
According to him, the report’s findings highlight the need for methods to resolve regional food price inequalities, adding that the involvement of sub-national governmental organizations might speed the process of bringing inflation down.
The report’s main result was that regional differences in food prices are typically greater than regional differences in prices: eight of the ten items had greater regional differences within them than between them.
Additionally, there is less regional variance for goods with uniform packaging, such as milk and tomato paste, which have the same median price throughout several regions.
Products lacking typical packaging, like cassava and plantains, exhibit significant regional variances.
The Greater Accra Region had the highest median price for the chosen food products in April 2023, followed by the Western North and Ahafo regions.
The only regions with the highest median price for more than one item were Western region North and Ahafo, which each had the highest median price for three items.
The government statistician and a representative of Ing. Prof. Osei-Wusu Achaw, Vice-Chancellor of Kumasi Technical University (KsTU), launched the report.
Following the publication of the monthly consumer price index (CPI) and inflation for May 2023 on June 14, 2023, the program was held at KsTU.