Prices of foodstuff to remain high until first half of 2024 – GAWU
The General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) is predicting prices of foodstuff to remain high until June.
This is because the harvesting of foodstuff across the country will begin in June.
This is coming after food inflation fell consecutively for the last six months to 27.1% in January 2024.
According to the General Secretary of GAWU, Edward Kareweh, the prices of food would not get better any time soon.
“Well, the price of food will not get better anytime soon. Looking at the country as a whole, we are entering into or are already in the lean season of production and no part of the country is experiencing harvest of foodstuff, particularly the major samples”.
“If we look at maize, it’s not being harvested anywhere in the country. Similarly, rice is also not being harvested unless those in the irrigation areas”, he added.
He continued by saying most parts of the country are not experiencing rainfall.
“Generally speaking, there are no rains throughout the country, and at this time also the Western parts of the country will begin preparation of their farms for the major season”.
“During this season, all the foodstuff we are eating is from last year. So don’t expect food prices to come down now”, he pointed out.
Furthermore, Mr. Kareweh said, “We expect that by the middle to the end of March [2024], food prices will go up and stay high like that until we begin to harvest around June/July in the Southern parts of the country”.
It is noteworthy that Ghana’s inflation has not touched single digits for almost four years, with the last instance occurring in March during a lockdown.
Notably, key ingredients for common household meals, including jollof, banku, and fufu, have recorded inflation rates above 40% in January 2024.
With a substantial weight of 1.2 in determining national inflation, fresh tomatoes have surged by 52.3%. Other crucial ingredients like cassava, fish, carrots, and garden eggs have inflation rates twice the national average.