The Finance Minister, Honourable Cassiel Ato Forson, appealed to the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), to reduce prices to reflect the growing trend of the cedi appreciating against the dollar.
The Minister made the call in light of a similar move from the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana (FABAG), which recently held a stakeholder engagement with the Ministry.
Speaking during the engagement, the Ajumako Enyan Esiam Member of Parliament (MP), FABAG’s move to reduce prices was commendable and called on GUTA to promptly follow suit.
“We are seeing improvements in the cedi and inflation is slowing. It’s time for businesses to reflect this in their pricing.,” Dr Forson said. “I appeal to GUTA and others to support this effort so Ghanaians can truly feel the recovery,”
The Ghanaian cedi has made tremendous strides against the U.S. dollar in recent months. From an extraordinary high of circa Ghc 17 to the dollar, the cedi is now trading at around Ghc 13 to the dollar.
Despite the massive depreciation, prices of goods and services remain high, prompting Ghanaians to complain massively about the lack of change in the cost of living despite the cedi’s highly touted gains.
FABAG drops prices
The Food and Beverage Association of Ghana (FABAG) announced during the meeting that they have taken the lead in reducing the prices of certain staple items such as sugar and rice.
“We have reduced sugar prices by about 7% as of today, and rice prices have corrected by about 10%. As importers, we are aggressively pushing prices down, but unfortunately, others in the value chain are not responding,” said FABAG Executive Secretary, Mr John Awuni.
The association called on other trader unions to follow suit to ensure all Ghanaians enjoy the benefit of the reducing dollar.
Dr Forson shared further details of the meeting on X (formerly Twitter), revealing that government continues to put in place measures to ensure the cedi appreciation remains stable.
He said they believe the cedi’s gains are not temporary as “it is the result of deliberate, well-thought-out planning and prudent economic management.”
