Makola, Okaishie traders resist immediate price cuts despite Cedi gains

Some traders within the Makola and Okaishie business hubs are pushing back against mounting calls to immediately reduce the prices of goods, despite the recent rebound of the Ghanaian cedi against the US dollar and other major foreign currencies.

In recent weeks, the cedi has shown resilience, reversing months of depreciation. This development has reignited public expectations for price reductions, particularly on imported goods.

However, many traders argue that their current stock was purchased at much higher exchange rates, making immediate price cuts financially unfeasible.

Rebecca Ofosuwaa, a retailer of household consumables, shared her perspective: “I disagree with the calls for price reductions. For instance, if someone placed import orders a month ago when the dollar was trading at 16 cedis, the recent appreciation of the cedi doesn’t automatically reflect in current prices. If the cedi remains stable, we may begin to see price reductions around August.”

Maame Efua, who trades in grains, cereals, and other groceries, echoed this sentiment.

“Most of us have old stocks so with that we cannot reduce the prices. We can only reduce when we import new products using the new prevailing rates,” she said.

As of Monday, some forex bureaus were selling the US dollar at 13 cedis 50 pesewas.

The traders also acknowledged recent claims by the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana that prices of some commodities are beginning to decline. However, they were quick to note that the reductions are minimal.

“Previously, a bag of sugar was selling for GHS 740, but the current price has dropped to around GHS 640,” one trader added