As high food prices continue to make Ghana’s inflation rate witness marginal increases, players are pushing for collaborative efforts to address inefficiencies in the supply value chain to ensure fair food prices in the country.
The main drivers of this inflationary trend are food and non-food items, which account for 54.2% and 33.4% respectively.
For example, inflation for the month of June 2023 in Ghana increased marginally to 42.5 percent compared to the 42.2 percent recorded in the previous month.
Locally produced items witnessed an inflation rate of 35.9%, while imported items had a higher inflation rate of 44.5%.
To this end, actors in the food industry, want government to enforce actions against unfair food prices caused by anti-competitive practices.
At a consumer voice for fair food prices forum organized by the Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC) and global advocacy group, Consumers International held at the Alisa Hotel in Accra on Thursday July 13, 2023, players in the sector said will also help tackle bottlenecks undermining the livelihoods of small-scale food producers.
The national multi-national stakeholder workshop which brought together governmental and non-governmental actors saw participants proffering suggestions aimed at finding a lasting solution to the worrying trend.
“GTIC deals with unfair trade practices, and these include unpair food prices which affects local production. If local producers are unable to produce at fair prices, they are unbale to keep up with the market and lose out because industry is not producing for development. So unfair pricing is a disincentive to local production and that is where our interest lies”, says Frank Agyekum, Executive Secretary of the GITC.
Panelists included representatives from the National Development Planning Commission, Food and Beverages Association of Ghana, the Ghana Association of Poultry Farmers and Food for All Africa.
On her part, Consumers International’s specialist for fair food prices in Africa, Davine Minayo who described unfair food prices as a threat emphasized the importance of a comprehensive evidence to drive the needed change and response.
“The issue of unfair food prices has been a challenge for the African continent. As a consumer organization, we are intervening in this space. Most consumers continue to be food insecure, and the situation is dire. So, we are working in this space to bring together stakeholders so that we can improve the available evidence on the prices of food and come up with good solutions to address this.”
Discussions centered around thematic areas including how anti-competitive practices such as price gouging, price fixing, and excessive pricing leading to higher consumer prices, while others profit and what actions are needed from government to tackle unfair food prices, the barriers to strong competition policy in Ghana among others.
“One of the ways we think will be important in addressing this is that we need to work with the competition authority to make businesses comply with regulatory authorities especially in cases where prices of food commodities have risen higher than the world”, Davine Minayo added.
About GITC
The GITC is a body established by an Act of Parliament, GITC Act 926, 2016, to regulate Ghana’s international trade architecture in conformity with the rules and regulations of the World Trade System and to provide for related matters.
It promotes Ghana’s international trade through the application of fair, efficient, transparent, and objective measures affecting international trade in conformity with World Trade Organization rules and regulations.
About Consumers international
Consumers International is the membership organization for more than 200 consumer groups in over 100 countries: including more than 30 countries across Africa.
It empowers and champions the rights of consumers everywhere; it is the voice in international policy-making forums, and we believe in a global marketplace where consumers are treated safely, fairly, and honestly.
Read Also >>>> PRICES OF FOOD ITEMS MAY KEEP RISING IF GOV’T DOESN’T INTERVENE – PEASANT FARMERS WARN
The organization’s work on food systems prioritizes delivering safe and healthy food for all, at an affordable price, through food systems that are fair and sustainable for people and planet.
Also recommended for you >>>> DESPITE ESCALATING TRANSPORT FARES, WE HAVE NOT INFLATED FOOD PRICES- SEASONAL FOODSTUFF TRADERS IN KOFORIDUA
