The Consumer Unity and Trust Society, CUTS International, is welcoming the government’s move halting the planned hike of sachet water by the producers, but says the story should not end there.
The consumer protection and advocacy think tank argues that the move by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Agribusiness offers immediate relief to Ghanaians, but it does not holistically address the structural problems within the market and the industry.
According to the West African Regional Director of CUTS International, Adomako Kusi Appiah, Esq, the real issue lies in what can be described as “cartel-like behaviour” among some producers. Prices are believed not to be independently determined but appear to be collectively agreed and simultaneously implemented across the market.
The consumer protection advocate and the lawyer who spoke to The High Street Journal maintained that such uniformity in pricing and timing raises serious competition concerns.
While welcoming the swift intervention by the government, he believes that to truly and efficiently protect consumers, the action must not end here. He calls on the government to go a step further to utilize its authority to end all purported cartels in the sachet water industry.
Adomako Appiah Kusi further maintains that the government must also ensure that uniform pricing among the industry players, which is synchronized to exploit consumers, is also halted.
“It goes beyond halting the price increase,” the West African Regional Director told The High Street Journal, adding that the “Government must use every tool available to dismantle the cartels in the sachet water 💦 industry, prevent uniform pricing as well as the timing of increase.”
“Each individual manufacturer must determine its own prices, and the association must desist from discussing prices among members,” he added.
Beyond price coordination, CUTS is urging the government to take a more proactive and investigative role in the sector. This includes identifying and scrutinising the sources of raw materials used by sachet water producers, such as plastic packaging and water treatment inputs, to independently verify claims often cited by industry associations as justification for price hikes.
The concern is that without independent verification, policymakers may be relying on aggregated industry narratives that mask inefficiencies or coordinated pricing strategies.
“Government must also identify the places where these manufacturers source their raw materials from,” he further noted.
It is believed that dismantling cartels and enforcing competition rules will not only protect consumers but also reward efficient producers and encourage innovation within the industry.
While the government’s directive has temporarily eased public anxiety, CUTS International insists that lasting solutions will depend on bold enforcement actions and a clear commitment to breaking entrenched market distortions in the sachet water industry.
