Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) Producer Price Index (PPI) report for April 2011 has indicated that producers of goods and services increased their cost to wholesalers by about 25.22%, as compared to 23.46% recorded in March, for all industries.

The utilities sector, which has a major influence on the index, recorded an inflation rate of 71.98% in April, this year, as against 71.96% in March.

The sector increased by 0.02% last month, which was a significant figure to the overall industries index as it recorded the highest rate of inflation as at April 2011.

Within the sector, electricity and water supply recorded 77.05% in April, as compared to 77.02% in March 2011. Production, transmission and distribution of electricity also recorded 77.05%, as compared to 77.02% in March 2011. Collection, purification and distribution of water maintained its rate of 13.86%.

Government Statistician, Dr. Grace Bediako, who announced this in Accra, said the performance of the utilities sector is as a result of the substantial increase in utilities prices some months ago.

Producer Price Index for the manufacturing sector, which is the largest industrial sector with about 69.75% share of all industry, went up by 1.07 % from 11.83% in March 2011 to 12.90% in April, on year-to-year basis.

Mining and quarrying went up by 6.02 % to record 38.29% in April 2011 against 32.27% in March, this year.

The monthly change in inflation for all industry was 1.38% compared to 0.97% in March. Utilities recorded the lowest monthly figure of 0.01% followed by manufacturing and mining and quarrying with 0.68% and 5.48% respectively.

In the manufacturing sector, six out of 16 major groups in the manufacturing sector recorded inflation rates higher than the manufacturing sector average figure of 12.90%. Manufacture of paper and paper products recorded the highest inflation rate of 39.25%, while manufacture of fabricated metal recorded a negative change.

During the 13 months period (April 2010 to April 2011), all industries recorded the highest inflation rate in April 2011. Between April 2010 and May 2010, the rates declined slightly, but increased in June 2010. Thereafter, the rates were quite stable until November 2010 when there was a slight drop.

Between October 2009 and December 2009, producer inflation in the manufacture of petroleum products group recorded a sharp increase. Inflation in this sector stabilized for the first two months of 2010, but dropped between March and June 2010. The rate declined in November 2010 after increasing slightly in October 2010. In January 2011 inflation in the petroleum industry jumped and continued to increase in March 2011 recording a rate of 26.08%.