This persistent inflation affects consumer purchasing power as wage and salary increases usually lag behind price increases. Nevertheless, per capita income is expected to show a modest increase in 1996. Traditional small-scale agriculture is the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy. The remaining 70 percent of the Ghanaian population are rural dwellers who generally do not have much disposable income to spend on imported food items, and therefore generally depend on the produce from their farms for consumption. The Ghanaian society is gradually becoming more sophisticated in its consumption patterns.
Women generally manage the home budget, and thus make purchasing decisions.
Within the urban population, children play a significant role in purchasing decisions, since they influence the purchasing of items such as greeting cards, candies, chocolate. With regards to dining out, this is mainly a feature of the urban centers. In the larger urban centers a variety of restaurants featuring local, continental, Indian and Chinese dishes are available. The United States has just begun to make its presence felt in the Ghanaian market for consumer ready food items. However, U.S. consumer food items have made significant inroads into the Ghanaian market in the last few years as a result of their high quality.