Dog meat, sanitary pad and ice cream record skyrocketing inflation

Inflation figures from the Ghana Statistical Service(GSS) have featured dog meat, sanitary pad and ice cream for the first time in the first 20 item drivers of inflation for May 2023.

The prices of these three items rose above 70% compared to the same period in May 2022.

Dog meat recorded a rate of 76.5%, sanitary pad 78.9% and ice cream 74.2% in May 2023.

The gross increase is primarily influenced by a spike in the prices of the items during the period.

Taste for dog meat and ice cream, which caused a demand pull, also contributed to the hike in inflation figures during the period.

According to the Ghana Statistical Service, food Inflation increased significantly from 48.7% in April 2023 to 51.8% in May 2023.

However, the non-food inflation declined to 34.6% in May 2023 from 35.4% recorded in April 2023.

The Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, made the announcement in Kumasi in the Ashanti region.

Prof. Annim explained that the contribution of food inflation to the overall national inflation rate was the highest in 17 months.

On regional inflation rates, the Ashanti region recorded the lowest national inflation of 31 per cent, while the Western North region recorded the highest with 62.5 per cent.