The Producer Price Inflation (PPI) which measures the ex-factory prices of goods and services in the country was 11.1% in April 2021.This rate represents a 1.9 percentage point decrease in producer inflation relative to the 13.0% recorded in March 2021. This is according to the Ghana Statistical Service’s (GSS) PPI newsletter for April 2021.
Meanwhile, the month-on-month change in PPI between March 2021 and April 2021 was -0.1 percent. This is lower than the 0.3% recorded between February 2021 and March 2021.
Moreover, the GSS has provided a breakdown of the PPI for the three major subsectors of the industry: Mining and Quarrying, Manufacturing, and Utilities.
The producer price inflation in the Mining and Quarrying sub-sector was 11.9% in April 2021. This represents a decrease of 10.8 percentage points over the 22.7% recorded in March 2021.
Similarly , the producer inflation for the Manufacturing sub-sector, which constitutes more than two-thirds of the total industry, was 13.7%. This represents a 0.3 percentage points decrease over the previous month. Also, the utility subsector recorded an inflation rate of 0.2% in April 2021. This is a marginal decrease of 0.1 percentage point over the 0.3% recorded in March.
Trends
In April 2020, the producer price inflation rate for all industry was 7.4%. The rate increased to record 9.5% in June 2020 but declined to 9.0% in August 2020. However, it increased to 9.7% in September 2020 but declined consistently to record 7.0% in December 2020. In January 2021, the rate increased to 8.7% and then to 13.0% in March 2021. But then again, it declined to record 11.1% in April 2021.
Manufacturing Sector
In April 2021, 5 out of the 16 major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 13.7%. Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers recorded the highest inflation rate of 37.3%. Conversely, the Manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus and Manufacture of machinery and equipment recorded the least inflation rate of 0.0%.
Petroleum Price Index
Furthermore, the producer inflation rate in the petroleum subsector was -15.3% in April 2020. In June 2020, the rate increased to -4.5%, but declined to -5.4% in August 2020. Thereafter, it increased to -0.3% in September and declined to -5.0% in November 2020. Subsequently, the rate increased continuously to a record 31.0% in March 2021, but declined to 30.6% in April 2021.
Nevertheless, the GSS warned that the figures for April 2021 are provisional and are subject to revision. That means the GSS may revise the figures when additional data become available. But, all other indicators are final.
The Producer Price Index captures the development in the three major subsectors of industry : Mining and Quarrying, Manufacturing and Utilities for the last twelve months.
READ ALSO: IMF, Gov’t debt computations not at cross purposes
