The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected an end-year inflation rate for Ghana in 2022 to be 16.3%.
This is a reversal from the 8.8% that it had earlier projected.
This means the country will miss the Bank of Ghana target of 8%+\-2.
According to the Fund’s April 2022 World Economic Outlook Report, the country has seen very high prices for commodities such as crude and cereals with the Russia/Ukraine war not helping matters.
“The ongoing war in Ukraine, associated sanctions, market participants’ actions in response to the global outcry, and rising counterparty risk have caused severe disruptions in commodity markets and supply chains across the globe. Amid sharply rising volatility, prices have skyrocketed across the commodity complex, causing severe pressures in commodity financing and derivatives markets. Shipping costs of commodities have increased, and higher commodity prices have raised the financing needs of commodity traders and those involved along the supply chain.” The Bretton Woods institution stated.
“Inflation is expected to remain elevated for longer than in the previous forecast, driven by war-induced commodity price increases and broadening price pressures. For 2022, inflation is projected at 5.7% in advanced economies and 8.7% in emerging market and developing economies —1.8 and 2.8 percentage points higher than projected in January”, it added.
Meanwhile, the Fund is also forecasting a 13% end-year inflation rate in 2023. Inflation hit 19.4% in March 2022, the highest in nearly 13 years, with high inflation pushed largely by food prices.
Foodstuffs such as Oil and Fats (28.2%), Water (27.1%), Cereal Products (25.0%), Vegetables (23.8%), Fish and Other Seafood (23.7%), Fruits and Nuts (22.1%), Soft Drinks (20.5%) and Live Animals and Meat (20.2%) recorded inflation rate, higher than the national average.
According to the figures, food inflation recorded a rate of 22.4% in March 2022, compared to 17.4% in February 2022.