The Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Dr. Bryan Acheampong, has claimed that prudent measures adopted by the government have helped in reducing food prices drastically within the last few months.
He said these measures by the government implemented by the government are yielding positive results.
Dr. Acheampong, speaking to journalists in Accra, noted that consumers still pay high prices due to middlemen’s exercise profiteering.
He made the remarks on the sidelines at an afruc fair organised by the ministry.
“We have been able to bring the price of maize down by 50%. And it is not just the maize. With regard to a lot of the cereals, the prices are dropping. Maize that used to sell at the same time last year at GH¢300 for 50kg bag now is GH¢148, the maximum that you get is GH¢150 which means that there is a 50% drop in the price of maize.”
“But nobody is talking about it because you don’t see it translate into the price of a ball of kenkey. It means that there’s someone in the middle who is pocketing the profit,” he stated.
A study by Consumers International, the Consumer Advocacy Centre, and Laweh University College suggests that weak competition in Ghana may lead to unfair food prices, as retail prices increase faster than wholesale prices.
Based on the study’s findings, national authorities are urged to look into and take action in relation to food products like onions, gari, and sorghum, which have been identified as key markets of concern.
A new tool created by consumer organisations has highlighted the risk of unfair food prices in Ghana, driven by insufficient competition in national and global food supply chains.
The Fair Food Price Monitor warns that rising prices for Ghanaian consumers may be influenced by factors like fuel costs and currency depreciation, as well as dominant market actors exploiting the crisis.
The tool, developed by Consumers International (representing consumers across the world) and Ghanaian organisation Consumer Advocacy Centre (based in Laweh University College), uses data from sources such as the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to track the relationship between food prices at different stages of the supply chain in Ghana and to highlight where investigation and action may be needed from government.
The study, among other things, identified that between January 2022 and July 2023:
The retail price of onions increased by 42.4%, while the wholesale price rose by just 18.1% in the same period.
The retail price of gari grew by 77%, compared to a 63% rise in wholesale prices; and an increase of just 46.4% in the wholesale price of cassava, gari’s basic ingredient.
The retail price of sorghum increased by 117.9%, while the wholesale price increased by 100.6%.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana