Dr. Joseph Obeng
THE NATIONAL President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng, has said the Agric Ministry’s direct sale of foodstuffs to the general public will cast market traders in bad light.
Speaking on Newsfile, the GUTA president stated that traders faced numerous challenges including high transportation costs especially, to convey goods to their final destination, all of which were factored into their pricing, and therefore, the Agric Ministry’s sale of foodstuffs at subsidised prices was only meant to court the favour of buyers.
“What they are doing and the narrative that goes with it suggests that they are inciting the public against us; that we are profiteering, but that is not the case. Why are they not adding products like tomatoes that will go waste? Because when you buy these goods and it goes waste, you have to also calculate and add them to your account,” Dr. Obeng said.
He added that “they (Agric Ministry) will do everything to convince authorities that it can work but you are not adding profit to what you are doing. You have all the logistics to procure the goods at a subsidised rates and then you are trying to compare your pricing with the traders who have challenges?”
According to him, unlike the ministry, traders sometimes needed to convey goods in transit for about four times in order to transport their goods to their final destinations. In the case of accidents, he said some of the foodstuffs perish.
“They (ministry) don’t even know the structures of these markets. We have markets that are very cheap and people go from other areas to buy from these markets to other areas. They add value (to them) and so all these processes add some costs,” he explained.
Dr. Obeng said that traders knew they provided a great service to the nation and its citizens and would not engage in profiteering to cause distress.
“A whole ministry competing with market women who do not have the logistics and trying to let Ghana think that traders are taking advantage of them. This is the opportunity that some of us also use to make a living,” the GUTA President said.
His comment comes after the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday began the direct sale of foodstuffs at its premises.
The move, according to the ministry, was aimed at cushioning Ghanaians and mitigating the impact of rising food prices.
But, Dr. Obeng expressed the belief that the Agric Ministry’s way of controlling prices was not sustainable; adding that the only way to control price was to add value to the goods.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Competitive African Rice Platform, Ghana Chapter, Yaw Adu Poku, said it was unfair to blame the market traders solely for the increase in goods.
“Three months ago, I was bringing in 50 tonnes of rice by articulator load at GHS14,000 from Tamale to Tema. Today, I am paying GHS60,000 so it has quadrupled and this adds to the cost of the product for the consumer, so, if we make it seem as if it is the middlemen and market women who are doing this, then we are not being truthful,” he added.