The GH¢2 price of a ball of the local Ghanaian meal made from fermented white corn, called kenkey, was phased out in Accra as far back as November 2022, according to the ‘The Kenkey Index’.
According to the Index, by November 2023, one-third of kenkey joints in Accra sold their product at GH¢5.
It emphasized that Teshie was the only place kenkey eaters could get a ball of kenkey at GH¢2 to buy.
Kenkey is an indigenous Ga meal eaten with black or red pepper, fish, sardine, canned beef, shrimp, etc., called ‘komi,’ while the Fantes call it ‘dokono.’
The Kenkey Index for August 2022 to December 2023 was compiled with kenkey from 30 to 40 spots (depending on availability in each collection period) within the Accra Metropolitan Area.
Samples were collected within one week in each calendar month, typically starting on the 15th day of August.
“April was also the month when the five-cedi kenkey made its entry. By November, one-third of the kenkey on offer on the streets of Accra was for GH¢5 – in the same month that the two-cedi kenkey disappeared. (Teshie was the last stop for the two-cedi kenkey),” The Kenkey Index reported.
The Kenkey Index maintained that the price of a ball of kenkey shot up in 2023, stressing that the first time a ball of kenkey was sold at GH¢4 was in November 2022.
The Kenkey Index recalled that as of January 2023, roughly 10 percent of the kenkey for sale on the market was at GH¢4, with an average selling price of GH¢2.83.
“Kenkey began 2023 in the middle of a steep price increase. The Kenkey Index had first recorded four-cedi kenkey in November 2022. As of January 2023, roughly 10 percent of the kenkey for sale on the market was at GH¢4, and the average selling price was GH¢2.83. But by April, 41 percent of the kenkey on offer was at GH¢4, and the average selling price was GH¢3.44.”
The value of kenkey, according to The Kenkey Index, continued to drop another 17 percent over the first half of 2023, ending at 102 grams per Ghana cedi in July.
“While the selling price affects affordability, the value for money lies in the price of kenkey at a given weight. On that measure, kenkey started the year at 124 grams per Ghana cedi, a 20.5 percent drop over the preceding three months, as consumers experienced a sharp drop in their kenkey well-being through shrinkflation.”
“The value of kenkey continued to drop another 17 per cent over the first half of the year, ending at 102 grams per Ghana cedi in July.”
During an interview on The Point of View on Citi TV, hosted by Bernard Avle, a Development Researcher and Communications Adviser, Kobina Aidoo, emphasized the effects of the prices of the ball of kenkey on the Ghanaian market.
“In August 2022 the average ball of kenkey was GH¢2.60pesewas. At that time, we still had GH¢2 kenkey in the market. There was no GH¢4 kenkey or GH¢1 kenkey in the market. All the way down to May 2023, you could see the price on a steady rise of GH¢2.80, and sought to stabilise there,” Mr Aidoo.
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