News:
October 28, 2022
The Member of Parliament for Akim Oda Alexander Akwasi Acquah said he has lent with shock how major producers of everyday commodities like oil, rice and food items took advantage of the dollar speculations and pegged their prices. According to him, he learnt from one of the retailers that “they had been advised to adjust their prices higher to reflect an exchange rate of GHc16 to a dollar”.
“I can’t recount when a dollar was sold for GHC16 and so wondered why a major producer of cooking oil could advise its wholesalers and retailers to adjust their prices”. The MP, who is also the Vice Chair of the Trade and Industry Committee in Parliament engaged major wholesalers and retailers of consumables in the Akim Oda Constituency to ascertain the real reasons behind the price hikes and how to arrest such development.
He revealed that the traders themselves were surprised at the development and blamed government for creating a loophole for the people to be exploited. Mr. Akwesi Acquah was however delighted that major wholesalers of rice concentrated on some locally produced rice to drive sale in the midst of the recent price hikes.
This, he noted, is good news for the local rice industry; and stated that “it was refreshing to note that these traders were ready to be major agents for the products of the rice factory that is under construction in the Akim Oda constituency”
Ghanamps.com