Market women in the Wa central market have bemoaned the hikes in prices of food commodities in the market.
In an interview with market women at the wa central market, madam Alimatu Sadia, a trader, told Info Radio that last year’s rains destroyed farms as a result farmers who have food commodities sell them to the market women at unregulated prices.
Madam Sadia further stated that the recent increase in transportation fares has become a worry to most market women as they spend much on transport.
She cited that, the car fare from Wa to Nyoli which was GH₵8.00 last year is now GH₵12.00 thereby making trade very difficult.
Another trader at the market, Madam Baaraata Yussif observed that the high cost of food commodities was a result of the increase in car fares and fuel prices.
She further explained that the transportation cost of food commodities from home sources or buying points to the market centres was high, compelling sellers to increase prices in order to make a profit from their sales.
Madam Fatuma, another trader, appealed to the government to help reduce fuel prices and car fares in order to cut down or prevent prices of food commodities from going high than they were present.
There have been persistent calls on the Government to reduce taxes on petroleum products to cushion consumers against the surge in prices of petroleum products on the international market, which has a direct impact on local prices.
The Government has dropped some margins on petroleum products, amounting to a reduction of 15p per litre – but analysts say the reduction is insignificant given the rate of increment since the beginning of the year.