3 essential items whose price increases have shocked Ghanaians in recent times

This weekend, Ghanaians were shocked by the increasing rate of the prices of some essential items due to the cedi’s depreciation.

The cedi has depreciated against the dollar by more than 50% in the last few months to currently sell at GH¢15.65 as of October 24, 2022.

The rate of inflation currently has become an issue of great concern as consumers cry over the depreciation of their purchasing power.

Oil

The price of the product shot up to GH¢1,000 from an earlier price of GH¢550 earlier this year. Some retailers have even pegged their prices at GH¢1,200. Ghanaians have been agitated over the price increment as some believe traders are taking advantage of the situation to shortchange customers.

Cement

The price of a 50kg bag of cement is now above GH¢80.00, as the manufacturers’ input costs rise due to the depreciation of the Ghana cedi.

Some retailers of GHACEM, Diamond, and Dangote cement vary the price of a bag of the product from GH¢77.00 to GH¢85.00 but the price of Dzata cement is a little cheaper.

The increase in the price of cement will go a long way to affect construction.

A Joy News report sighted by GhanaWeb attributed the current increase in price to the depreciation of the Ghana cedi against the US dollar.

“Some of the materials used in producing the cement are imported, hence the increasing cost of operations.

“When the factory price (wholesale price) of a 50 kilogram of a bag of cement was about ¢59.00, it was based on an exchange rate of about ¢7.60 in June 2022,” the report stated.

Rice

The 5kg bag of rice currently costs GH¢112 from an earlier cost of GH¢50 at the beginning of the year.

Averagely, the price of the commodity has risen by more than 50% in the last 3months.

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