President of the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng, has asked Ghanaians not to blame traders for the regular hikes in prices of goods, especially mobile devices and accessories.
He explained that ”we are not in normal times and the impact of the Covid-19 is not an easy thing to deal with. The world has been badly hit by the outbreak and it has affected how we do business”.
He also raised the issue of freight and how expensive it has become in Ghana adding that the cost of freight moved from Ghc3,000 to Ghc15,000 and has in recent times dropped to Ghc12,000. That alone has taken some portion of your investment as a business owner.
The exchange rate is also a challenge for businesses. The Customs is also charging duty in dollars and so all these things coupled with other factors are affecting our businesses.”
Dr. Obeng added ”This is a natural sequence and not something we intentionally did. The competition in the market is tough and so you cannot overprice your goods. If you overprice, you will be overpricing yourself out of business. We have several malls, and other traders and so if you overprice your products, you will be out of business”.
He stressed if the sequence of the exchange rate keeps rising and other factors in our business activity keep rising, the prices of goods would also rise.
By: Rashid Obodai Provencal/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
