Ghana’s producer price inflation edged up slightly in March 2026, reflecting modest cost pressures at the factory gate, even as overall price growth remains subdued compared with last year, data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) show.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose to 280.3 in March 2026, up from 278.4 in February 2026 and 276.1 in the same month a year earlier. This resulted in a year‑on‑year producer inflation rate of 1.5 percent, indicating that prices received by domestic producers were, on average, 1.5 percent higher than in March 2025.
The March figure represents a 0.1 percentage point increase from the 1.4 percent recorded in February 2026, but remains 22.9 percentage points lower than the inflation rate recorded in March 2025—underscoring a significant easing in producer‑level price pressures over the past year.
On a month‑on‑month basis, producer prices increased by 0.7 percent between February and March, pointing to mild short‑term upward movements in production costs.
Sectoral data show mixed trends. Mining and Quarrying, which carries the largest weight in the PPI basket at 43.7 percent, recorded a slight slowdown in inflation, declining from 4.1 percent in February to 3.9 percent in March 2026. The moderation in this sector helped contain overall price growth.
The Manufacturing sector, accounting for 35 percent of the index, showed signs of recovery from deflation, with producer inflation improving from ‑2.9 percent in February to ‑2.2 percent in March.
Although prices remain lower than a year earlier, the narrowing decline suggests easing pressure on manufacturers.
In contrast, producer inflation in the transport and storage sub‑sector continued to fall sharply, declining from ‑8.6 percent to ‑9.8 percent. The drop reflects lower prices in warehousing, logistics, and related transport support services, contributing to reduced distribution costs across supply chains.
Within manufacturing, notable year‑on‑year price increases were recorded in the manufacture of beverages, rubber and plastics products, printing and reproduction of recorded media, textiles, and leather products.
However, steep price declines were observed in coke and refined petroleum products, basic metals, pharmaceuticals, and non‑metallic mineral products.
The services sector recorded uneven movements. Strong price increases were seen in motion picture and television production, water transportation, air transport, and broadcasting activities, while prices declined in accommodation services, publishing, and warehousing and support activities for transportation.
Analysts say the data point to a generally stable producer price environment, with easing pressures from mining and transport offsetting emerging short‑term increases in other areas.
The persistence of negative inflation in manufacturing is expected to keep input costs relatively low for businesses that rely heavily on locally produced goods.
The GSS calculates the PPI using a fixed basket of 2,639 goods and services, with monthly price data collected from 603 domestic producers. The index measures factory gate prices, excluding taxes, subsidies, and costs incurred beyond the producer level, with March 2020 to February 2021 set as the base period (100).
While the slight uptick in March suggests cautious upward pressure, producer inflation remains contained, offering some relief to businesses and policymakers monitoring cost trends across the economy.
By: Christian Akorlie / businesspostonline
