The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has expressed fear that the cedi will continue to be under pressure if Ghanaians’ taste for imported goods is not ceased.
Mr. Ofori-Atta advised Ghanaians to as a matter of urgency change their voracious appetite for imported goods.
It is estimated that majority of the country’s products are imported from other countries.
The local currency has taken a downturn in the past months, with prices of goods and services, fuel among other consumables soaring high.
But appearing before the ad-hoc committee of Parliament on Friday, November 18, 2022, the Finance Minister indicated that the country does not earn much from imported products which require foreign exchange.
“Hon. Co-Chairs, it is time to have an honest national conversation on the patterns of expenditure as a people. Our preference for imported goods, which requires foreign exchange that we do not earn enough of, implies that our cedi will continue to be under pressure. It has become clear that we cannot continue in a business-as-usual mode. We have to significantly change our consumption,” he advised.
Ghana spends billions of cedis annually to import products from other countries.
Ghana imports mostly industrial supplies, capital and consumer goods and foodstuffs. Its main import partners are China, the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom and France.