Prices of some goods on the Ghanaian market may increase within the next two months if no solution is found to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus which originated from China, an economic powerhouse.
That’s according to the Ghana Union of Traders Association, GUTA, whose members are unable to import goods from China due to the outbreak and spread of the respiratory disease.
As at 2018, trade between Ghana and China stood at US$7.3 billion, making Ghana the 7th largest trading partner of China in Africa that year.
GUTA President, Dr. Joseph Obeng, told Citi Business News they may be forced to increase prices of goods to keep up with market trends should the situation persist.
“For now I cannot say it has actually affected prices, but we are anticipating that from May if the situation persists then we are going to suffer some kind of shortage which will definitely impact on the prices” he cautioned.
Due to the disease, Dr. Obeng says majority of GUTA members now trade from Dubai. He however warns that prices are likely to shoot up again due to the shortage of goods.
“Most of our people, who normally travel, do physical inspection and buy their goods in the open markets; they are not doing that now, they can’t even do that. Now most of them have turned to Dubai where prices have started going up and they are also expecting shortage in the next month or two. For those of us who even deal with the manufacturing entities, now they can’t produce in time. If they used to produce in a month, now they will tell you in two months because of the challenges that they are also facing as a result of the outbreak in their country. So definitely, if there is shortage it will impact on the prices” he explained.
So far, about 100 countries have recorded the disease with the death toll inching close to 4,000, although more than half of those affected have recovered.
This has disrupted business activities and trade in many countries, with China and countries that depend on it being the most affected.
