The price of fresh tomatoes more than doubled between August 2025 and August 2026, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

Presenting the August Consumer Price Index, Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, said fresh tomato prices surged by 158.3% year-on-year in August 2026, the highest price rise among commodities tracked by the Service.

“Fresh tomatoes more than doubled in price (+158.3%), while Lime fell 33.7%: the overall Y-on-Y inflation of 5.0% hides very different experiences at the market”, he noted.

Fresh tomatoes recorded the largest year-on-year price increase among food commodities tracked by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in August, rising by 158.3%. Ginger followed closely, with its price increasing by 128.3%.

Shrimp prices also went up by 67.1%, while mangoes recorded a 57.7% increase. Prices of fresh coconut and fresh green pepper rose by 38.0% and 30.5%, respectively.

The steep rise in tomato prices, however, came alongside declines in the prices of several other food items.

Lime recorded the biggest fall, with prices dropping by 33.7%, while maize prices declined by 31.3%. Prices of cocoyam leaves, sweet apples, fried fish and pawpaw also fell significantly.

Despite these contrasting price movements, the GSS reported that food prices declined by 2.5% month-on-month in August.

“Inflation measures how fast prices in general are rising or falling, not how high they already are”, he added.

Ghana’s inflation rate rose to 5.0% in August 2026, the increase was driven by higher non-food and services inflation.

The annual inflation rate increased by 0.4 percentage points, although overall prices fell by 1% between July and August.

Non-food inflation recorded a sharper increase in August, rising to 6.8% from 6.1% in July and putting further upward pressure on the headline inflation rate.

Services inflation saw a slight rise from 8.5% to 8.6%, continuing to reflect relatively high price pressures within the sector.

The rate of inflation for goods rose to 3.8% in August, up from 3.4% in July, signalling an acceleration in the annual increase in goods prices. Locally produced goods also recorded higher inflation, with the rate increasing from 5.9% in July to 6.1% in August.

Meanwhile, inflation on imported goods edged up by 0.2 percentage points to 2.2% in August, from 2.0% the previous month. The July inflation rate slowed to 4.6%, marking a renewed easing in consumer price pressures across the economy.

According to the GSS’ Monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report, Ghana's headline inflation declined by 0.7 percentage points in July, falling from 5.3% in June to 4.6%.

GSS explained that even though the prices of goods continue to increase, they are doing so at a slower pace, providing some relief for consumers.

It also reinforces expectations that inflation could remain comfortably within the Bank of Ghana's medium-term target band of 8 ± 2 percent, provided current macroeconomic conditions are sustained.

The moderation in inflation was driven by slower price increases across both food and non-food categories. Food inflation declined to 3.1% in July from 3.9% in June, while non-food inflation eased marginally to 6.1%, compared with 6.3% a month earlier.

The data also show that services inflation, which covers transport, rent, education, healthcare, haircuts and internet services, declined from 9.4% in June to 8.5%, reflecting slower increases in the cost of services.

On the other hand, inflation for locally produced goods stood at 5.9%, significantly higher than the 2.0% recorded for imported goods. This means inflation for locally produced goods was 3.9 percentage points higher than that of imported goods.

GSS also noted that while the prices of services continue to increase, they are doing so at a slower pace. It added that locally produced goods recorded higher inflation than imported goods, largely because the Ghana cedi has remained relatively stable and global price pressures have eased.