Inflation for the month of June 2023 in Ghana increased marginally to 42.5 percent compared to the 42.2 percent recorded in May 2023.
According to the government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the main drivers of this inflationary trend are food and non-food items, which account for 54.2% and 33.4% respectively.
Locally produced items witnessed an inflation rate of 35.9%, while imported items had a higher inflation rate of 44.5%.
The Ghana Statistical Service reports that prices of vegetables, such as tomatoes, saw an increase in average prices.
Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim advised policymakers to take a critical look at factors contributing to the increase in food inflation.
“At the minimum, we see a widening of the gap between food and non-food inflation. We need to focus on why we see food inflation going up. We have seen about a 20 percentage point change between food inflation and non-food inflation.”
After reaching a more than two-decade high of 54.1% in December, inflation had gradually declined for four consecutive months until April.
