Africa-Press – Ghana. The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) Dr Joseph Obeng has lamented the high cost of doing business in Ghana.
He states that the increasing cost of doing business has forced traders to increase the cost of goods and services.
He further stated that in order for businesses to survive the challenges posed by the free fall of the Cedi and to break even, businesses have had to pass on the costs to the consumer.
He revealed that retailers are no longer getting supplies on credit due to the challenges posed by the free fall of the Cedi.
” I sympathize with retailers a lot, they’re not getting suppliers on credit anymore,” he said.
He added “Businesses are shrinking; we’re losing capital”
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce, Dr Mark Badu-Aboagye, also said the abysmal performance of the Cedi against the major trading currencies was disturbing businesses.
He said that this is certainly not a good time for businesses in Ghana owing to the free fall of the cedi.
“Not a good time for businesses. Rate of depreciation of the cedi and high cost of operating troubling,” Dr Mark Badu-Aboagye said on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Thursday, May 16.
Ghana’s cedi is in a record-breaking weakening cycle. The currency hasn’t gained versus the dollar in the past 22 trading sessions, the longest streak, Bloomberg reported.
The currency hasn’t gained versus the dollar in the past 22 trading sessions, the longest streak according to data compiled by Bloomberg going back to 1994. The cedi traded 0.3% weaker at 13.9310 by 1 p.m. in London.
It’s declined 14% this year, a slump beaten only by currencies that have been devalued, including the Egyptian pound and Nigerian naira.
The slide has been fueled by a slump in cocoa earnings, with exports dropping by nearly a third to $508 million in the first two months of the year due to adverse weather, disease and fertilizer shortages.
Despite a temporary surplus in 2023, Ghana’s historical current account deficit is also resurfacing, signaling further challenges to the cedi, said Gergely Urmossy, emerging market strategist at Societe Generale.
Cedi woes: Provide incentives for production, not levies and taxes – Yankah tells govt
The cedi’s forward curve calculation sees the currency breaching its record low of 14.6174 per dollar by the third quarter, ending the year at 15.98. FX forward pricing is calculated based on the spot rate and the interest rate differentials between the two currencies for the tenor of the forward.
In the wake of the poor performance of the Cedi, a Minister of State under the Rawlings administration, Kojo Yankah, has suggested to the government to prioritise the provision of incentives for businesses to produce more, not the introduction of taxes.
Mr Yankah indicated that taxing businesses amidst the dwindling fortunes of the local currency is only suffocating the business community.
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