Africa-Press – Ghana. The General Secretary of Traders Advocacy Group, Ghana, Nana Poku, has observed that there is no end in sight for prices of goods and services to drop due to the continued depreciation of the cedi against major trading currencies like the US dollar.
Prices of goods and services have skyrocketed due to high inflation and the local currency’s weakness. Traders have to spend hundreds of thousands of cedis to get a few thousand dollars to pay for their imports.
Currently, three pieces of tomatoes are selling for GHC10.00 due to the rising cost of the produce.
According to market reports, the price of a box of tomatoes, commonly known as ‘adaka’, has witnessed an astronomic 360 per cent rise from GHC1,500 in January 2024 to between GHC6,000 and GHC7,000 as of June 4, 2024.
Speaking on Tuesday, June 4, Mr Poku expressed shock about the increase in the prices of goods in the country.
He further revealed that some traders are contemplating trading their goods in dollars, a situation he describes as ‘worrying’ if its implementation becomes widespread.
“I’m very amused with the prices that are being quoted out there. What we are about to experience will be more than what we are seeing now. Because now traders are comparing to price their wares in dollars, and it has started in some quarters.
“If you go to the market, they will give you the dollar price and they will give you the cedi price,” he added.
He said the Traders Advocacy Group received these concerns from consumers who visit the local markets, especially within the big cities.
He maintained that the group “had no choice than to support” these traders in pricing their wares in dollars.
“Comparing what you spend on goods brought in, if caution is not exercised and you price lower, that means you will be out of business. So it’s better if is this [wrist] watch and it’s 10 dollars, you tell the person that it is 10 dollars so that when you are doing your computation and your calculations, you will no actually lose your capital,” he explained.
There appears to be no end in sight for the depreciation of the Cedi – Mahama
Responding to whether the dollar-priced goods are for only imported goods and not locally manufactured goods, Mr Poku retorted, “The local one you are talking about is coming from Burkina Faso,” signaling a dire situation.
“Now as the dollar keeps going up, the CFA [Franc] is also chasing it, so what do you want them to do?” Mr Nana Poku quizzed.
“It is not the fault of the traders, as long as this government is sitting aloof and is not ready to do anything about this trend, I’m telling you, prices are going to be rocket high, it will be a story that nobody wants to hear,” he told Naa Ashorkor, co-host of the New Day.
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