The President of the Ghana Union Traders Association(GUTA), Dr Joseph Kweku Obeng, has asked the Ministry of Food and Agriculture(MoFA) to create the facility for traders to also buy goods as cheap as the Ministry buys them.
According to him, the Ministry and some individuals continue to create the impresssion that, traders take unnecessary advantage of consumers to sell goods at higher prices due to the current economic crisis.
“Is that not what they always say? The Ministry itself has said it so many times that, the traders add unimaginable profit to the goods they sell. This makes it look like we are taking advantage of our consumers.”
Dr Joseph Obeng
Speaking in an interview today November 14, Dr obeng lamented that while the Ministry faces very little or no challenges at all when going for its goods, his members face challenges ranging from daily increase in fares, robbery, plying of bad roads leading to the damage of some food products due to delay. He noted that these have played to MoFA’s advantage to sell its goods at cheaper prices.
“This is an unfair comparism, in fact, it does not ensure a fair comparison because some of these traders have gone for micro loan for their businesses and they face different kinds of challenges the Ministry does not face when going for the goods.
“Sometimes their trucks break down for days on their way back, making some of their farm products get rotten. I want to know if they will send the foodstuffs to the door steps of Ghanains.”
Dr Joseph Obeng
He further revealed that upon questioning those who went to buy from the ministry last week, there was no huge difference between the price of the traders and that of the ministry.
Dr Joseph Obeng advised the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to stop comparing itself to traders in the market, as it would not yield any progress for the country.
Government Pilots Cheap Foodstuffs At MoFA
His comments followed the commencement of the selling of foodstuffs by the MoFA at its premises. The direct sale of foodstuffs by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture at its premises began on Friday, November 11, 2022.
The food items are sold to civil and local government workers. According to the Ministry, the foodstuffs will be sold at controlled prices. Government workers can buy foodstuff directly from the Food and Agriculture Ministry.
The move, according to the Ministry, is aimed at cushioning Ghanaians and mitigating the impact of rising food prices. The first truckload from the farm gates arrived on Friday and they were set up for prospective customers to patronize.
We Are Bringing Yams To Sell At Our Premises Today
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Hon Yaw Addo Frimpong has disclosed that the Ministry is bringing yam for sale at its premises today, November 14.
According to him, there will also be some other foodstuffs such as local rice and plaintain. He noted that farmers at the various cereal areas are yet to harvest their products, most especially maize, and so therefore, the Ministry will go for that too when they are ready.
According to him, the foodstuffs sold at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is relatively cheaper, as compared to the ones in the market. He further asked Ghanaians to disregard speculations that the prices of MoFA’s food stuffs are expensive as compared to that of the ones sold by traders in the market.
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