In October, the inflation rate in Ghana dropped to 8.0 percent, down from 9.4 percent in September, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. This is the lowest inflation rate we’ve seen in four years and marks the tenth consecutive month of decline.
Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, the Acting Government Statistician, explained that overall prices decreased by 0.4 percent between September and October. When it comes to food, inflation fell to 9.5 percent from 11.0 percent, and food prices actually dropped by 1.0 percent during this time.
For non-food items, inflation decreased to 6.9 percent from 8.2 percent, but prices for non-food items saw a slight rise of 0.04 percent month-to-month. The inflation rate for goods, which are physical items, dropped to 9.3 percent from 11.2 percent, and prices for these goods also went down by 0.7 percent. Service costs, however, saw a smaller change, with inflation easing from 4.8 percent to 4.6 percent, even though service prices increased by 0.5 percent.
Since goods make up nearly 75 percent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the drop in goods inflation is good news for consumers. On a regional level, local inflation fell from 10.1 percent in September to 8.0 percent in October, while the inflation rate for imported goods rose slightly from 7.4 percent to 7.8 percent.
The North East region had the highest inflation at 17.3 percent, whereas Bono East had the lowest at 1.1 percent. Dr. Iddrisu noted that differences in local supply, transport costs, and accessibility to markets could be causing these variations.
He advised businesses to take advantage of the lower inflation by investing in efficiency and supporting local supply chains. He encouraged them to reduce waste, buy from local producers, and position themselves for growth as the economy stabilizes.
Additionally, Dr. Iddrisu suggested that businesses should pass on any cost savings to consumers when inputs are cheaper, which would help build trust and competitiveness. He encouraged households to use this time of falling inflation to plan better, manage their budgets wisely, avoid unnecessary expenses, and save what they can.
Lastly, he called on the government to maintain strict financial discipline, focus resources on keeping food prices low by improving storage, irrigation, and transportation, and address regional differences in pricing.
