The price of imported rice has increased by 12 percent for the first week in December.
Currently, a 5 kilogram bag of rice is being sold for 28 cedis, up from 25 cedis for the same quantity of rice during the last week of November.
Maize and yam followed with 2 percent and 1 percent gain each to close the week at 4 cedis and 3 cedis 60 pesewas respectively.
However prices of soya bean, fresh tubers of cassava and groundnut dropped for the first week in December. The other commodity prices remained the same.
On the various markets, the price for an “olunka” of maize gained by 20 percent in Bawku to close the week at 3.00 cedis, it also gained by 1 percent in Techiman to close the week at 3 cedis but dropped by 2 percent in Kumasi to close the week at 5cedis.
Prices of tomatoes dropped in Accra, Techiman and Dambai but gained in Kumasi, Tamale and Takoradi.
Meanwhile Content Manager at Esoko Ghana, Francis Danso Adjei tells Citi Business News the increase in the price of rice is due to the depreciation of the cedi and an increased demand for imported rice.
“One reason is that rice is imported and so anything that affects the currency and the flow of imports, affects the prices on the market. Also, a lot of people are now consuming the local rice and so when you don’t have a lot in supply, it tends to affect the price on the market. Currently we don’t have a lot of the local rice on the market because people are now harvesting and the quantity on the market is still low,” he explained.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Credit: Esoko Ghana