Ghana’s Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare is very optimistic of siginifant drop in the prices of goods and services in the country.
The minister’s whose optimism is informed by the recent appreciation of the Ghana cedi against the US dollar and the feedback from major stakeholders said the development will lead to noticeable reduction in the prices of goods and services within the next 60 days.
She said this during a discussions with the leadership of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Association (GUTA) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in Accra on Wednesday 14, May, 2025.
According to her, the meeting yielded positive results and disclosed that direct importers had agreed to reduce wholesale prices to retailers once older stocks were cleared to allow prices to fully reflect the current exchange rate.
“I’m happy to inform you that the direct importers have agreed to reduce their prices, and some have already started doing that.
We’ve also heard from GUTA and AGI that it is good that the cedi has stabilised,” Mrs Ofosu-Adjare stated.
“They need a bit of time to let this reflect in their prices. It will happen gradually.
The direct importers have started reducing their prices for the retailers, and this will be total when the old stock comes down,” the minister added.
The Trade Minister explained that once the direct importers were able to find an average of the new stock and the old stock, the prices would certainly go down, but that would take about 60 days.
The Ghana cedi has continuously gain strength against major trading currencies, extending its upward trend into the third week of May and marking significant gains since March.
Data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) showed that the cedi strengthened from GH¢15.53 to GH¢13.09 per dollar on the buying rate between March 12 and May 12, 2025, while the selling rate improved from GH¢15.55 to GH¢13.10.
Similar gains were recorded against the pound sterling, with the buying price rising from GH¢20.09 to GH¢17.42 and the euro from GH¢16.96 to GH¢14.74 over the same period.
Analysts, including Databank Research, attribute the cedi’s continued resilience to strong support from the Bank of Ghana and improved sovereign credit ratings, projecting further stability.
Bloomberg has also named the cedi the world’s best-performing currency this month, reinforcing optimism within the country’s financial sector.
However, many consumers have yet to feel the impact, as prices of goods remain high despite the cedi’s improved performance.
Enabling environment
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare stated that the government had created a supportive environment for businesses to grow and expressed optimism that the local currency would continue to appreciate, allowing consumers to reap the benefits of a stabilised economy.
“We hope that the cedi will keep doing well. We hope that all the indicators will even improve, and they are happy to let the general public and consumers benefit from the stabilised economy,” she said.
Assurance
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare expressed satisfaction with the collaborative efforts between the GUTA and the AGI and the government, aimed at fostering a more stable economy for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
“I am happy that they have explained their bid to me and my team. We also explained ours to them, and this is their consensus. I think it is positive. Dialogue is the way to go in this kind of economic environment that we find ourselves in,” she stated.
The Trade Minister also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining consistent economic indicators to support long-term stability.
“The government will continue to engage the private sector to help them solve more of their issues so that the general public and the consumers will benefit,” she stated.
Sustainability
The President of GUTA, Joseph Obeng, expressed hope that the managers of the economy would continue to implement sound policies to sustain the factors supporting the cedi to strengthen.
He also assured consumers that once importers began to reduce their prices, the market would respond positively, leading to price adjustments to the benefit of all Ghanaians.
“We are in a highly competitive market. Most importers have started getting the benefit of this, and most of them have started sharing the benefit with the consuming public. You just have to search the market and you will find this,” Mr Obeng said.
The GUTA president urged the government to continue to do its part of the bargain, saying, “Do whatever it is to sustain this and by two months, everybody in the country will witness the fact that the business community also thinks about the consuming public.”
Commendation
For his part, the President of AGI, Dr Ayim Darkeh, commended the government for leveraging current global developments, particularly the impact of tariffs imposed by the United States on some countries, which have created an opportunity for the Ghanaian cedi to appreciate.
He also expressed the hope that the upcoming mid-year budget review would reflect a continued commitment from the government to consolidate these gains and translate them into tangible economic benefits.
“We commend government and also say that we are committed to the cause of reflecting these gains in our pricing and our various business activities.
We believe sincerely that within a period of 60 days from now, this impact will be translated into the final price of our products that we wholesale and retail,” Dr Darkeh said.
The AGI president also expressed the belief that in the mid-term budget review, “we will see further reflection and commitment from the government regarding these gains.”
credit: graphiconline
