Increase in transport fares affect foodstuff prices

The prices of some commodities in the Takoradi central market have increased over the week as compared to the previous week.

Some traders, the Ghana News Agency spoke with on Friday attributed the price increase to the exorbitant charges of transport operators in transporting the goods from the various farms to the market.

Others also blamed the increase in foodstuffs to the seasonal and climate change. According to them, scarcity of certain perishable goods determined their prices on the market.

Prices of items such as maize, white beans, tomatoes, red pepper, onion, groundnut, garden eggs, millet, beans and plantain have increased marginally this week as compared to previous weeks.

A plastic bowl of maize which sold at GHc6 last week sells at GHc7, a cup of groundnut goes for GHc1.70p unlike the previous week which was GHc1.60p, a big sack of pepper which sold at GHc200 now sold at GHc280, while medium size bag of onion now sold at GHc220 as against GHc200 last week.

Madam Dorothy Mensah, a vegetable seller, lamented that her garden eggs have perished due to low patronage.

Meanwhile, prices of vegetables such as cabbage, carrot and green pepper have maintained their prices; a big size bag of cabbage still sells as at GHc120, a small bag of carrot sells at GHc160 and a big sack of green pepper sells at GHc300.