I don’t think anyone can complain that food is expensive in Ghana – Agric Minister

Due to the lockdown and restrictions as preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19, some market women have taken advantage of the moment to increase prices of goods and services.

A lot of netizens have been complaining on social media at how expensive things have become. Some people are of the view that Government must intervene by regulating the prices of things in other to prevent the artificial inflation of prices.

These complaints have sure gotten to the ears of Agric Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie.

In reaction, he said even though he does not subscribe to the control of food prices, no one can complain that food is expensive in Ghana.

He believes that there is enough food on the market hence prices have even dropped in some jurisdiction.

“Unfortunately I am not a believer in controlling prices, it creates an artificial environment for misallocation of resources and that is a very simple economic reason why I don’t subscribe to it. In any case, we are talking about 3 million producers of farm produce, thousands of traders small and large, and in the markets, you see the large numbers of these traders, how do you go around and control prices? I think that an open pricing system that is being followed by the gov’t shows the kind of confidence we have that we will be able to supply food to the market for consumers at a very reasonable price. I don’t think anybody can complain in this country that food is expensive”.

Dr. Owusu Afriyie also assured Ghanaians that there is enough food supply in the country for even though COVID-19 has slowed farming activities.

According to the Minister, due to the government’s flagship program, Planting for Food and Jobs, the country has more than enough to take care of the citizens in this period.