Producer Price Inflation rate for April 2022 was 31.2 percent, an indication of the increase in ex-factory prices of goods and services between April 2021 and April 2022 (year-on-year).

This rate represents a 1.9 percentage point increase in producer inflation relative to the 29.3% recorded in March 2022.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers for the production of their goods and services, rose from 968.8 in March to 979.8 in April 2022. This resulted in a month-on-month change of 1.1 percent in the producer price index between March 2022 and April 2022.

The month-on-month change in the producer price index in April was lower than the rate recorded between February 2022 and March 2022 (6.8%) and that between January and February 2022 (3.9%).

PPI for the various sub-sectors

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) provided information on inflation rates for all industry and its three major sub-sectors for the last twelve months. The major sub-sectors include Mining and Quarrying, Manufacturing and Utilities.

Data from the GSS showed that the producer price inflation in the Mining and Quarrying sub-sector increased by 1.6 percentage points to 35.2 percent in April 2022, up from 33.6 percent recorded in March this year. This means inflation in this sub-sector continued its upward trend since February (13.8%) this year. Meanwhile, the utility sub-sector recorded a 1.1percent inflation rate in April 2022.

The producer inflation for the Manufacturing sub-sector, which constitutes more than two-thirds of the total industry, increased by 2.6 percentage points to 38.6 percent.

In April 2022, two out of the sixteen major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 38.6 percent. Manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel recorded the highest inflation rate of 76.1 percent.

Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products as well as manufacture of textiles recorded inflation rates of 32.7 percent and 32 percent in April 2022, respectively. Manufacture of rubber and plastic products recorded an inflation rate of 23.6 percent in April while manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers recorded an inflation rate of 20.6 percent in the fourth month of the year.

The Publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media experienced the least inflation rate of 2.6 percent within the manufacturing sub-sector.

Petroleum Price Index

In April 2021, the producer inflation rate in the petroleum sub-sector was 28.0 percent. The rate then fluctuated between May and August 2021. Thereafter, it increased continuously to 58.4 percent in November 2021 but dropped to 36.0 percent in January 2022. The rate resumed an upward trend to record 76.1 percent in April 2022.

With regards to trends in PPI, GSS data showed that in April 2021, the producer price inflation rate for all industry was 10.9 percent. The rate increased to a record 11.8 percent but decreased continuously to record 8.1 percent in August 2021. Subsequently, it resumed an upward trend to record 31.2 percent in April 2022.