Contemporary tomato costs have emerged as probably the most vital drivers of meals inflation in Could 2026 following a pointy enhance associated to provide disruptions and regional commerce constraints.
Dr. Alhassan Idris, a authorities statistician, revealed that the value of contemporary tomatoes elevated by 35.8% year-on-year from April to Could 2026, and soared by an astonishing 38.8% month-on-month.
“Tomato costs have now risen considerably for 2 consecutive months,” he stated.
He defined that the value trajectory was initially modest, with year-on-year inflation of simply 2.6% in April 2026, however momentum shortly accelerated.
“Solely a month in the past, the year-on-year enhance was modest, however the month-on-month enhance was already 34.3%,” Dr. Idris stated.
This sharp enhance is related to provide shocks, together with disruptions to cross-border commerce flows. He cited assaults on Ghanaian merchants in Burkina Faso in February, adopted by an export ban in March that restricted the move of tomatoes to native markets.
“Though the export ban was lifted on April 2, 2026, costs had already elevated considerably because of the disruption,” he defined.
Tomatoes, a staple meals for Ghanaian households, have subsequently performed a serious position within the latest rise in meals inflation, which rose from 2.2% in April to three.3% in Could.
Dr Idris stated the rise in tomato costs displays how shortly exterior shocks are transmitted to home meals markets and have a direct affect on family spending patterns.
