The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said that his outfit will be conducting a probe into the continuous rise in the prices of food items in the country.
He said that even though the increase in transportation cost is a factor in the price buildup of food commodities, that alone cannot be the reason for the astronomical increase prices.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, November 9, Dr. Afriyie Akoto added that the government will be investigating allegations that traders are engaging in profiteering.
“Some are speculating that the marketers are making supper normal profit. That is something that has to be looked at. When you take the actual cost from the farm gate, how much the farmer is paid, the collection, the handling, the transportation, the price you get is multiples of what retailers are paying.
“Many attribute the high increases to the cost of fuel and transportation. Whereas this may be true to some extent, our analysis at the ministry review that it is over exaggerated,” he said.
The minister reiterated the plans of his ministry to transport food from rural communities to urban centres including Accra, to ensure that the prices of food items come down in these areas.