Ghana, one of West African Most Expensive Food Markets – World Bank
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
Ghana has been identified as one of the most expensive food markets in West and Central Africa, with staple prices now more than 100 percent above the region’s five-year average. The latest update from the World Bank’s Food Security Monitoring System shows that the country is facing some of the sharpest food price surges on the continent, driven by a mix of erratic weather patterns, persistent inflationary pressures, and currency-related cost escalations.
The report paints a complex and fragile picture of food and nutrition security across the subregion. While many Sahel countries are experiencing a relatively favourable 2025/26 farming season, with normal to above-average rainfall boosting crop performance, several coastal states, including Ghana, have endured a challenging production cycle. In these areas, rains arrived late, second-season showers lagged, and extreme weather events battered farms and rural communities.
According to the World Bank, floods, hailstorms and violent rainstorms affected more than 400,000 people across Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Nigeria, disrupting farming activities, destroying fields and undermining food production systems. Despite these setbacks, the overall agricultural outlook for the region remains cautiously optimistic. Cereal production for 2025/26 is projected at 78–88 million metric tons, representing up to a 14 percent increase from the previous season, while tuber output could reach 267–284 million metric tons. Pastoral conditions have also generally improved, although insecurity in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger continues to restrict livestock movement.
However, this relative production stability has not translated into price relief in all markets. In Ghana and Nigeria, the report notes, food inflation remains elevated, and the cost of staples such as maize, rice, gari and millet has soared far above historical averages.
“Staple food prices remain extremely high in Ghana and Nigeria more than 100 percent above the five-year average and about 40 percent higher in Sierra Leone, reflecting ongoing inflation and currency pressures,” the Bank stressed.
Analysts say the situation in Ghana is further complicated by the residual effects of currency depreciation over the past year, higher transportation and input costs, and lingering supply chain bottlenecks. The urban poor, who rely heavily on market-purchased foods, are bearing the brunt of the price escalation, while rural households are also experiencing reduced purchasing power.
In contrast, several Sahel countries including Benin, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, are experiencing modest price stability due to improved harvests and stronger market regulation. Livestock prices are rising in some corridors, offering herding communities slightly better terms of trade as cereal prices soften locally.
Despite these pockets of improvement, the World Bank cautions that structural drivers of food insecurity remain entrenched. Insurgent attacks, political instability and restricted mobility continue to disrupt markets and agricultural production in the Sahel, while high inflation and currency volatilities in coastal countries, particularly Ghana and The Gambia, are keeping consumers under severe pressure.
Regional institutions, including ECOWAS, CILSS and various development partners, are intensifying support for early-warning systems, post-harvest loss monitoring and crisis-preparedness strategies. But for many families across the region, especially in Ghana’s hardest-hit urban centres, the weight of escalating market prices continues to tighten household budgets.
With Ghana and Nigeria now topping the region’s list of most expensive food markets, the World Bank warns that sustained policy action will be critical to prevent deeper food insecurity during the coming lean season.
