In 2022, prices for both products and services skyrocketed. The record-breaking inflation rates reported by the Ghana Statistical Service reflect this.
By November 2022, the rate had risen above 50%. High import levels were mostly to blame for the high inflation rate.
The rapid and occasionally unparalleled rate of price hikes left Ghanaians gasping in awe.
Even if the overall increase in prices for products and services was stunning, some things experienced price jumps to extremely high levels in a very short amount of time.
In this article, here are some of the items whose price increases came as a shock and were a topic of discussion for a long time.
Rice
A bag of 5kg of rice was selling at about GH¢40 at the beginning of 2022. The price shot up to GH¢60, GH¢80 and is currently selling at almost GH¢100 at various supermarkets.
Oil
The price of the product shot up to GH¢1,000 overnight from an earlier price of GH¢550 earlier this year. Some retailers even pegged their prices at GH¢1,200. However, after several agitations and complaints, the price has been reduced to GH¢600 and GH¢650, GhanaWeb Business can confirm.
Fuel
Fuel prices have topped the chart of conversations this year as the price of the commodity kept increasing with each pricing window.
This was highly linked to the depreciation of the cedi and the increase in the price of crude oil on the international market. Fuel prices jumped from GH¢6 to almost GH¢16 before coming down to GH¢13 in December 2022.
Transport fares
As fuel prices kept increasing, the rippling effect was seen in transport fares. Transport fares increased by more than 50% in 2022 alone, a situation that has never been experienced in the country’s history.
Bread
The price of flour, sugar and other baking materials increased significantly this year. This is reflected in the cost of bread. One loaf of butter bread is currently GH¢15 from GH¢6 at the beginning of the year.
Cement
The cost of building materials also shook Ghanaians this year as cement moved from GH¢50 to above GH¢80 in a few months. This also caused an increase in rent and other real estate businesses. The increase was also associated with the depreciation of the cedi.
Pure water
Another commodity whose price increase shook Ghanaians was sachet and bottled water. Pure water as it is popularly called shot up to GH¢40p from GH¢20p by the end of December 2021.
Water and electricity
The Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission announced a 27.15% increase in the price of electricity and a 21.55% increase in water tariffs.
Sanitary Pad
The price of sanitary pads increased to GH¢22 from GH¢5 at the beginning of the year. Even though Ghanaians have been calling for a reduction in the taxes on the product, those calls are yet to be heeded.