Forex rates at ports to be maintained for next three months – Deputy Trade Minister

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Micheal Okyere Baafi, has said government will maintain a fixed exchange rate at the ports for the next three months. According to him, the move is aimed at cushioning traders who import goods into the country and also forms part of efforts to address agitations by some trader groups due to the cedi’s depreciation. Micheal Okyere Baafi speaking at a signing ceremony of the sectoral expansion of COVID-19 response grant programme in Accra said the dollar rate will be kept at the same level as the Bank of Ghana’s interbank rate. “The goal is to make them very comfortable in business. The fixed exchange rate is expected to provide better certainty for importers and help the government maintain low inflation,” he explained. Meanwhile, the cedi has in the past few weeks experienced unprecedented depreciation against the US dollar. The currency has now been ranked by Bloomberg as the worst-performing currency in the world against the US dollar, overtaking the Sri Lanka Rupee. Checks by GhanaWeb Business to some forex bureaus in Accra show the cedi is selling above the GH¢14 to the dollar as of October 21, 2022. The development has since forced members under the Ghana Union of Traders' Associations to close down their shops in Kumasi in the Ashanti region and subsequently the Central Business District in Accra. MA/FNOQ Watch the latest episode of BizTech below: