Ghana is the sixth-ranked African country grappling with high food inflation rates, according to the World Bank’s Food Security Update in June.
Ghana’s food inflation rate of 22.6% in May 2024 positioned it at that rank.
Malawi and Nigeria were 1st and 2nd with food inflation of 40.7% and 40.0% respectively.
Sierra Leone (32.4%), Egypt (31.0%), Ethiopia (25.5%), Angola (18.5%) and Zambia (16.2%) were ranked 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th respectively.
The World Bank reports that many African nations struggle with persistent challenges of high inflation, especially concerning food prices.
“Domestic food price inflation remains high in many low- and middle-income countries. Inflation higher than 5% is experienced in 59.1% of low-income countries (no change since the last update on May 30, 2024), 63% of lower-middle-income countries (no change), 36% of upper-middle-income countries (5.0 percentage points higher), and 10.9 per cent of high-income countries (3.6 percentage points lower)”.
Inflation, marked by a persistent rise in the overall price levels of goods and services, poses significant repercussions for any nation it affects.
Among these, the sector most profoundly impacted by inflation is food.
High food inflation can have serious repercussions in African nations, where food accounts for a major portion of family expenses.
The rising food costs increase the risks of hunger and malnutrition.
Ghana’s food inflation
In January 2023, Ghana recorded its highest food inflation rate of 61%, higher than the overall inflation rate of 53.6%.
There has been a significant decline in food inflation over the period.
Current figures from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) show that food inflation increased to 24.0% from the 22.6% recorded in May 2024, implying a higher inflation rate than the overall rate of inflation of 22.8% in June 2024.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) attributed the challenges with food inflation in the country to exchange rate volatility.
“The question of the exchange rate is always an important one, and that is why we have provided a trend analysis from June 2023 to June 2024. The dominance of the inflation on imported items can be aligned to the exchange rate stability,” Government Statistician Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim said at a presser on June 10.