Fresh tomato prices surged by 158.3% year-on-year in August 2026, making the commodity the biggest price mover recorded by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) during the month.
The sharp increase came despite a marginal moderation in overall food inflation, which eased to 3.0% in August from 3.1% in July.
Presenting the August Consumer Price Index, Government Statistician, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, said the significant rise in fresh tomato prices highlighted the varying price experiences of consumers across different commodities.
“Fresh Tomatoes more than doubled in price (+158.3%) while Lime fell 33.7%: the overall Y-on-Y inflation of 5.0% hides very different experiences at the market,” he noted.
GSS data show that fresh tomatoes recorded the highest year-on-year price increase among commodities tracked in August, followed by ginger, which rose by 128.3%.
Shrimp prices increased by 67.1%, while mango prices rose by 57.7%. Fresh coconut and fresh green pepper also recorded increases of 38.0% and 30.5%, respectively.
The sharp rise in tomato prices contrasted with declines recorded in the prices of several other food commodities.
Lime recorded the biggest decline, with prices falling by 33.7%, while maize prices dropped by 31.3%.
Cocoyam leaves, sweet apples, fried fish and pawpaw also recorded notable price reductions.
Despite the mixed price movements, the GSS reported that food prices generally fell by 2.5% month-on-month in August.
Dr Iddrisu explained that inflation measures the rate at which prices change rather than the absolute price level of individual goods.
“Inflation measures how fast prices in general are rising or falling, not how high they already are,” he added.
Overall year-on-year inflation increased to 5.0% in August from 4.6% in July, but remained significantly below the 11.5% recorded in August 2025.
Non-food inflation was the main driver of the increase, rising to 6.8%, compared with food inflation of 3.0%.
The GSS said non-food items accounted for 70.9% of total inflation, while food contributed 29.1%.
Services also remained a major source of price pressure, recording inflation of 8.6%, compared with 3.8% for goods.
According to the GSS, locally produced goods and services accounted for 86.2% of total inflation, while imported items recorded inflation of 2.2%.
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