General stability in food prices has marginally cut the Consumer Price Index for September by a 0.1 percentage point from the 12.3 percent recorded in August, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has said.
“In August, about four sub-groups in the food basket recorded rates higher than the group’s rate. But this time round it was only one item, which is the fish and sea-food – indicating that for the others the rate has dropped, and that is what is accounting for the general drop in inflation rate.
“And we are entering the harvesting season, so there are fresh foods like yam and tomato in the market – and that is also a possible cause for the marginal drop. This also explains why fish and sea-food records higher inflation than the other sub-group items, because sea-food is not cultivated,” Deputy Government Statistician Anthony Amuzu said at the press conference in Accra.
The GSS release shows that food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 8.1 percent, a 0.7 percentage point higher than was recorded in 2017.
Only fish and sea-food recorded a rate higher than the food group’s average.
The non-food group recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 14.1 percent in September, compared to the 14.7 recorded for the previous month.
Transport, recreation and culture, furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance, clothing and footwear, miscellaneous goods and services, all recorded rates higher than the non-food group’s average.
With regard to imported items, the year-on-year inflation rate was 13.5 percent – 1.9 percentage points higher than that of locally produced items, which recorded 11.6 percent.
In regional terms, seven regions—Upper West, Greater Accra, Brong Ahafo, Western, Ashanti, Eastern and Central Regions—all recorded rates higher than the national average, with Upper West leading at 13.1 percent.
The Volta Region recorded the lowest inflation rate of 10.5 percent.
The data also show that items such as motor cars, computer equipment, household appliances, clothing, hotels, cafes and restaurants, furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance, rent, and fuel all recorded high inflation rates.
Last month, the jump in inflation from 11.9 percent in July to 12.3 percent moved the central bank to maintain its policy rate at 21 percent, saying: “The uptick in core inflation, an indication of emerging pressures, will require further monitoring”.
The Governor, Ernest Addison, was, however upbeat that although inflation increased marginally, “It will trend downward the medium-term target of 8±2 percent in early 2018, barring any unanticipated shocks”.
