Finatrade on a Fact-finding Mission

RETAILERS of rice say they have reduced their prices in compliance with the government’s initiative aimed at mitigating the hardship Ghanaians are facing as a result of escalating food and fuel prices on the world market.
They said a bag of 50 kilograms of Texas rice, which was previously sold at GH¢65 was now sold at GH¢60; Chicago rice, which used to be sold at GH¢64, was now sold at GH¢59, whilst Big Joe rice, which was also sold at GH¢60, was now sold at GH¢50.
This came to light when the Finatrade Group of Companies, a major importer of rice in Ghana, embarked on a fact-finding mission in Accra yesterday to find out if retailers of their brands had also reduced their prices after they had announced a reduction in the prices of all their brands to ensure the government’s initiative to mitigate the effects of rising food prices on the economy and the consumer.
The Director of Corporate Affairs of the Finatrade Group of Companies, Mr John Awuni, told some members of the media during the fact-finding mission in some retail shops at the Central Business District of Accra that they reduced their prices by 20 per cent in June this year, as directed by the President, and had maintained it despite the cedi depreciating against the dollar.
He said in the light of the fact that the cedi was depreciating against the dollar they should have also increased their prices but as an advocate of the government’s policy they intended to maintain the current prices of their brands in order to make sure that Ghanaian consumers did not feel the effect of the soaring world food and fuel prices.
Some of the retailers the Daily Graphic spoke to acknowledged that the reduction in prices by the importers after the removal of import duties had accounted for the decrease in the prices of rice.
Mrs Hannah Mensah of PH Mensah Limited said the prices of rice would have by now increased by 50 per cent if the government had not intervened, noting that the prices of rice in Ghana were far better compared to other countries in the sub-region.
“Even in America consumers are not allowed to purchase more than two bags of rice from supermarkets because of soaring food prices,” she stated, and disclosed that some Ghanaians travelling abroad even came to buy her rice since, the prices there were expensive.
She commended the government for its intervention.
Another retailer of rice, Mr Okyere Boakye, who also attributed the reduction in the prices of rice to the government’s intervention, noted that smuggled rice mostly from Cote d'Ivoire could also account for the decrease in prices.
He said that was because these smuggled goods (rice) were duty free in Cote d’Ivoire and evaded tax in Ghana. He called on the government and the Customs and Excise Preventive Service to go the extra mile to bring these smugglers to book.
President J. A. Kufuor in a nationwide broadcast on May 23, 2008 directed the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning to seek the necessary parliamentary approval for the removal of import duties on major food items and waive levies on some petroleum products.
Some of the food items that benefited from the reduction on import duties were rice, wheat and yellow corn, and importers of these commodities were required to reduce their prices accordingly and avoid any attempt to re-export these items.
The President’s directive came at the heels of increasing pressure on the Ghanaian economy resulting from the distortions in the global market, particularly soaring food and fuel prices, and to that effect Parliament, a week after the Presidents directive, amended the Customs and Excise (Duty and other Taxes) Act 2008 to remove import duties on those commodities.
President Kufuor asked all Ghanaians, particularly importers, to co-operate, so that the benefits could be felt by all, as it was expected that importers would benefit from the removal of duties and subsequently pass on such benefits to the end consumers.