As food inflation continues to rise across Africa, Ghana is feeling the effects not only in household kitchens but also in the country’s business sector. Small businesses, from vendors to restaurant owners, are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing prices.
For many food vendors and restaurant owners, rising costs have become a daily battle. The price of maize has increased by 3% in recent months and remained 27% higher than in 2020. Wheat, a key ingredient for bakeries and fast-food businesses, has also surged, forcing business owners to either raise prices or cut portions.
A loaf of bread that used to sell for GH¢10 is now going for GH¢15, a cup of sugar which used to go for GH¢5 is now at GH¢7, these hikes coupled with other food items has made many Ghanaians struggling to survive.
In Ghana’s informal economy, where many food vendors operate on thin profit margins, these price hikes are having severe consequences forcing businesses to shut down, while others are switching to cheaper, lower-quality ingredients, impacting food safety and nutritional value.
The February 2025 edition of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) Market Monitor notes that, while prices for wheat, rice, and soybeans are lower than a year ago, maize export prices have surged to a 15-month high due to supply concerns.
Also, the 2024 Financing Flows and Food Crises report highlights a severe underfunding of the food sector, with only 3% (USD 6.3 billion) of total development funding allocated to food-related initiatives which is far below the 33% (USD 10.3 billion) earmarked for global humanitarian aid.
According to latest data from the World Bank, an estimated 61.6 million people in East Africa are food insecure, while nearly 50 million individuals are projected to face similar challenges in West and Central Africa.
With food inflation exceeding 5% in many lower-income countries, Ghanaian households are changing their eating habits. Rice, which saw a 10% price drop globally, remained 14% more expensive than in 2020 due to local import duties and supply chain disruptions. As a result, more families are shifting to alternative staples such as cassava and yam.
While Ghana produces a variety of local crops, dependence on imported foods leaves the country vulnerable to global price shocks.
In order to fight these challenges, the government of Ghana introduced the “planting for food and jobs” program to increase local food production, enhance food security, and reduce dependence on imports. Nonetheless, funding constraints, delays in input supply, weak extension of services, and smuggling of subsidized inputs hinder the growth of the program.
