Consumers Decry High Prices Of Goods

The prices of most goods on the market have gone through the roof, as the cedi continues to fall against the US dollar and other major currencies. Aside the continuous fall in the value of the cedi against the major foreign currencies, the high cost of goods on the market has also been attributed to high import duties at the country�s ports. Market survey A market survey conducted by the Daily Graphic showed that the price of almost every commodity has increased drastically, compared to what pertained last year. This confirms recent Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) findings that the Producer Price Inflation (PPI), the rate at which prices change at the factory gate, increased by 0.7 per cent to 27.8 per cent in March 2014. The rate was 27.1 per cent in February 2014, while the month-on-month producer price change in March 2014 was 3.1 per cent over the February 2014 figure. Similarly, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the rate at which prices change in the goods market, otherwise known as inflation, rose to 14.5 per cent in March 2014, from the February figure of 14.0 per cent. The monthly rate of change for March 2014 was 0.9 per cent, against the 1.1 per cent recorded in February 2014. In spite of the Bank of Ghana�s (BoG�s) introduction of monetary measures early this year to help halt the free-fall of the cedi, the cedi continues to fall against the other currencies. A survey at the forex bureaux showed that presently the dollar is exchanged for GH�2.89, compared to GH�1.95 for the same period last year. The pound is presently selling at GH�4.85, as against GH�3.05 the same period last year. The euro, on the other hand, goes for GH�3.99, as against GH�2.53 last year. Prices of some commodities One commodity which has been hard hit by the general price hike is cement. At Dansoman, it was observed that a bag of GHACEM cement was being sold at GH�27, although one could also get it for GH�25 in other suburbs of Accra such as Mallam. An elderly woman who has sold cement for the past 30 years said the current price was frightening. According to her, the price went up from about GH�14 to GH�17 in the middle of last year and stabilised at GH�24 as of the end of 2013. However, she said presently distributors were giving the product to retailers at GH�25, who in turn sold it between GH�26 and GH�27. Diamond cement, a different brand, is being sold at GH�24, while Dangote cement, a locally bagged cement, is being sold at GH�25. Another category of people who are feeling the hike in prices are importers of used clothing. According to some of them, as of last year, depending on the country of origin of a bale of used clothing, it was sold between GH�150 and GH�800. Ms Vicky Wadei, a dealer in second-hand children�s clothing, said the duties that they had to pay on the imports, coupled with the high exchange rate, were kicking them out of business. At the market At the Agbogbloshie Market, a bucket of fresh tomatoes is sold between GH�15 and GH�20, compared with between GH�10 and GH�15 around this period last year. At the Mallam Atta Market, four fingers of unripe plantain are sold at GH�2, while the same number of ripe plantain goes for GH�4. A 25-kilogramme bag of rice is sold for GH�75, while the 50-kilogramme bag goes for GH�144. A bunch of �kontomire� is sold at the market at 50Gp, while a bowl of pepper goes for GH�7. A bowl of garden eggs is being sold at GH�8, while a tuber of yam nicknamed �punna� is sold at GH�5. An �olonka� of gari is sold at GH�4, while an �olonka� of maize is sold at GHc3. The price of four tubers of cassava at the market ranges from GH�2 to GH�5, while a bag of maize ranges from GH�150 to GH�170. At the Adabraka Market, a bowl of green pepper is sold at GH�3, while a bowl of red pepper goes for GH�2. A bowl of garden eggs is sold at GH�7, while a tuber of yam ranges from GH�3 to GH�7, depending on the type and size.