As the Christmas festivities begin, prices of goods and food commodities have shot up at the Kasoa Market in the Central Region.
When The High Street Journal visited the market on Monday, December 23, commodities prices, including foodstuffs, clothing, footwear, and other consumables, had increased marginally.
Some of the market women and traders said economic activities had slowed down due to price increases, a common cause leading to the anticipation of poor sales during the festive season.
Mama Yaa, a trader said, market has slowed down because prices of the wear remain unstably high, worrying that, prices of the clothes at the retail shops keep increasing and businesses must also increase prices to meet their profits.
She said that Jeans trousers which used to sell between GH¢80 and GH¢90 were now selling between GH¢200 and GH¢350 while that of the long sleeve shirt is also going between GH¢200 and GH¢300 instead of GH¢70 and GH¢100.
A foodstuff seller at the Kasoa market, called Mama Theresa said, foodstuffs also kept on rising due to producer price pressures, expressing worry that their food produce kept perishing because of poor sales.
She said the price of a 25 kilogram bag of rice which used to sell at GH¢70, was going for GH¢450 while a bottle of cooking oil was also selling GH¢50, previously it was selling at GH¢35.
She added that house holds who purchased 5 kilograms of rice should now budget around GH¢120gh to GH¢150 this Christmas season.
A bowl of onion which used to sell as GH¢50 is currently pegged between GH¢80 and GHC100.
When The High Street Journal enquired with consumers, they also expressed the same sentiment and called on the government to stabilize the increasing prices of food items in the country.
“The economic hardship is too much to bear, and the government must control the price increases,” Mr Frank Asu, a senior lecturer bemoaned.
Another resident, Kofi Osei-Mensah, also noted that, ‘if the economy is not prioritized citizens will not be able to afford common household items for the coming Christmas year.’
However, to tackle the high cost of goods and food items, the government is expected to develop modern storage facilities and efficient distribution networks to reduce post-harvest losses. Reducing import duties to lower taxes on essential goods to lower prices.
The government must also encourage local manufacturing to reduce large imports which will also create jobs for citizens, currently, Ghana is still spending millions of cedi on onion imports, this is a common issue for high inflation in the country.
Further, upgrading roads, ports, and other transportation infrastructure can also help reduce costs and increase efficiency in productivity.
