National welfare secretary of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Benjamine Yeboah, has revealed that it will be difficult for traders to reduce the price of goods despite the appreciation of the cedi.

According to him, although the cedi has appreciated in recent time, traders who have a stockpile of goods bought at the previous dollar rate have no choice than to maintain the current price of goods. He indicated that any reduction could potentially lead to losses for these traders.

“It’s a normal business practice. I mean if you bought something at a particular price, it will be difficult for you to reduce lesser than your cost price. That is the problem we are facing as traders now. The way the things shot up, we thought it was abnormal, the same way it is coming down in terms of the cedi, dollar relationship…”
Benjamine Yeboah

Despite the possibility that prices of goods may not be reduced, Mr Yeboah appealed to his members in giving some rebates due to the imminent festive season and as a sign of goodwill. Nonetheless, he stated that it’s going to be a bit difficult to implement.

“If the trend continues like we are seeing and it’s sustained, definitely we can then calculate, and we might see prices coming down in some few months to come.”
Benjamine Yeboah

Commenting on the growth in the cedi value, Mr Yeboah noted that there has been a shortage of the Ghanaian cedi at some forex bureaus in the country. He explained that following the gains made on the cedi against some major currency, the situation has reversed as people are rushing in for the cedi to offload their dollar hoard.

“… If you go to some forex bureaus, they tell you they don’t have the cedi to change your dollar. We checked yesterday and that was what was going on… People were saying that time when the dollar was shooting up that speculations can also drive such things and therefore, what is happening can also be deduced to be same. So, that is the uncertainty that is on the market now and definitely as traders, we are all being careful.”
Benjamine Yeboah

The National welfare secretary of GUTA highlighted that several factors may account for the hike in value of the cedi. He stated that the Bank of Ghana’s decision not to give out dollars for the import of non-essential goods, the purported idea of using gold to buy oil or government setting its fiscal policy right may account for it.

“It will be difficult pinpointing it… There might be a lot of reasons for that and definitely they might be the best people to tell us what they are doing right. The impact it is going to have on us is that it is going to put pressure on us on how we calculate our things… Striking the balance, it’s going to be difficult but as traders, that is what we do best, to see how best we can strike it so we don’t lose too much, and we will also be able to get our monies worth and build on, then we can import again… But sustaining this reduction is key so that we know it is going to stay, then, we can price well. Now, it’s quite a bit difficult to do.”
Benjamine Yeboah

Predicting whether the gains in value of the cedi will be sustainable, Mr Yeboah expressed that it will be an uphill task, however he hoped that the business acumen traders have gathered over the years will be able to manage the situation. He equally urged government to issue a statement to calm the market on the matter.

“This kind of things when they happen, it puts everyone on edge. So, it will be difficult pinpointing what should be done but as leaders of the economy, they should come out with some sort of explanation so that it brings some ease to people and people can look at what they are saying and see how we can plan our way around… Those who are having the dollars, they are now panicking to offload it before they lose out. That is what I think is also contributing to what is happening.”
Benjamin Yeboah