Food and Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong has expressed scepticism about recent data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on food prices and inflation, questioning the sources of their information.
Speaking on PM Express Business Edition on Joy News, he said his Ministry’s own tracking of food prices paints a different picture than what has been reported.
“I don’t know where Statistical Service collected their data from,” the Minister stated bluntly.
“I am in every part of this country daily. I get data on farm gate prices of almost 22 commodities that we are tracking. I get market prices of these items daily.”
Bryan Acheampong highlighted the fact that while maize prices have indeed risen due to the dry spell, prices for other essential food items such as plantain, tomatoes, onions, and cassava have dropped significantly.
“Plantain has dropped by 27%, tomatoes by 30%, onions by 11%, and cassava by 13%,” he said, dismissing the idea that food prices are spiralling out of control.
He added, “This is what is happening on the ground… If you go to the market, the prices of everything, except maize, are coming down.”
The Minister also pointed out the misunderstanding in how inflation figures are presented.
According to him, the Ghana Statistical Service’s method of comparing September 2024 prices to those of September 2023 doesn’t reflect the more recent downward trend in food prices.
“Inflation figures for September are comparing prices from September this year to last year September. But I am telling you, from January to date, the price of food is going down,” Bryan Acheampong clarified.
He elaborated further by noting that despite the dry spell, food prices had largely stabilized, especially during September.
“Notwithstanding the announcement of the dry spell, we’ve seen a significant decrease in the prices of food on the market. The foods that we eat—tomatoes, onions, peppers, cassava, plantain, soya, sorghum, millet—except for maize, everything is going down.”
Bryan Acheampong concluded by reaffirming his commitment to keeping his finger on the pulse of Ghana’s food systems and ensuring accurate data is provided.
He suggested that the Statistical Service’s methods may not capture the day-to-day realities of the markets as closely as his Ministry’s data.