Ghana's inflation rises to 3.7% in May 2026 as food prices increase

Ghana's year-on-year inflation rate rose to 3.7 per cent in May 2026, up from 3.4 per cent in April, marking the second consecutive monthly increase after fifteen months of steady decline, according to data released by the Ghana Statistical Service on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

The Consumer Price Index for May 2026 stood at 270.2, compared with 260.5 in May 2025, translating into a 1.1 per cent month-on-month increase in the general price level between April and May 2026.

Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, presenting the data in Accra, said the steady drop in inflation from 18.4 per cent in May 2025 to 3.7 per cent in May 2026 showed a sustained shift in prices, signalling a firm path to macroeconomic stability. However, he acknowledged that the 0.3 percentage point uptick from April required close monitoring.

Food inflation drives the increase

The rise in headline inflation was driven largely by food and non-alcoholic beverages, which recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of 3.3 per cent in May 2026, up from 2.2 per cent in April. Month-on-month, food prices increased by 2.0 per cent between April and May.

Non-food inflation, meanwhile, decreased slightly to 4.1 per cent in May from 4.2 per cent in April. Non-food prices increased by 0.4 per cent month-on-month.

The Government Statistician noted that goods inflation increased to 1.4 per cent in May from 1.1 per cent in April, a development of great concern to consumers given that goods account for nearly three-quarters of the CPI basket. Services inflation rose to 9.9 per cent in May from 9.6 per cent in April.

Inflation for locally produced items rose to 5.0 per cent in May 2026 from 4.7 per cent in April, while inflation for imported items increased to 0.9 per cent from 0.5 per cent over the same period.

Regional disparities persist

Sharp regional differences continued to characterise Ghana's inflation landscape in May. The North East Region recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate at 10.1 per cent, while the Savannah Region recorded the lowest at -3.0 per cent, meaning prices actually fell in that region over the past year.

Eight regions recorded inflation rates above the national average of 3.7 per cent. The top five contributors to national inflation were Ashanti Region (34.9 per cent contribution), Greater Accra Region (31.0 per cent), Eastern Region (14.8 per cent), Central Region (11.8 per cent), and Volta Region (5.2 per cent).

The Government Statistician attributed the regional gaps to local supply constraints, transport costs, and differences in market access.

Top drivers of inflation

The top five items contributing to national inflation were charcoal (13.1 per cent contribution), payment for rents (11.8 per cent), fresh tomatoes (11.4 per cent), public and private secondary school fees (9.3 per cent), and green plantain (9.3 per cent).

Fresh tomatoes recorded a staggering year-on-year price increase of 35.8 per cent and a month-on-month surge of 38.8 per cent, making it one of the most volatile food items in the basket. Ginger recorded the highest individual item inflation at 78.0 per cent year-on-year, with a month-on-month increase of 12.3 per cent.

Other items with significant year-on-year price increases included plantain (green) at 47.6 per cent, charcoal at 50.1 per cent, dried fish (koobi/momoni) at 40.1 per cent, and shrimps at 47.2 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, items recording deflation (negative inflation) included cocoyam leaves (kontomire) at -43.7 per cent, fried fish at -43.6 per cent, garden eggs at -41.3 per cent, and pawpaw at -40.4 per cent.

Policy implications

The Government Statistician outlined policy implications for key stakeholders. For businesses, he recommended improving efficiency, strengthening local supply chains, reducing avoidable costs, and passing savings on to consumers where possible. For households, he advised tracking spending carefully, focusing on essential items, avoiding unnecessary expenses, and building small savings whenever possible.

For the government, he called for maintaining fiscal discipline, investing in food systems – particularly storage, irrigation and transport – and addressing regional inequalities in market access.

The May 2026 inflation data comes as the Bank of Ghana prepares for its next Monetary Policy Committee meeting. The central bank has aggressively eased policy over the past year, cutting the policy rate by a cumulative 1,000 basis points to 18 per cent, its lowest level since the crisis began in 2022. The latest inflation figures may influence the Committee's decision on whether to continue easing or hold rates steady.

The Ghana Statistical Service has introduced several innovations to its CPI release, including decomposition of inflation into goods and services, reports on annual average inflation data, contributions to inflation analysis, infographics, and a section on implications for key stakeholders. The full CPI bulletin and technical annexes are available on the GSS website.