The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has expressed concern about the high expenses associated with conducting business in the country.
Dr. Joseph Obeng, the President of the Association, discussed the issue in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb Business. He attributed the recent rise in inflation to cost-push inflation, where increasing production costs prompt businesses to pass on those costs to customers in order to maintain profitability or break even.
During the interview with GhanaWeb’s Ernestina Serwaa Asante, Dr. Obeng highlighted the significant customs duties paid at ports, high interest rates on loans, and various taxes as contributing factors to the increased prices of goods and services.
Dr Joseph Obeng said, “The inflation we are experiencing if everybody wants to know is a cost-push inflation. The fact that there are too many cost items. The taxes, the duties that we pay, the interest rate and all that have made the prices go up so until we are able to tone down this cost of doing business, prices will keep on going up.”
In June 2023, there was a slight uptick in inflation, with the rate increasing to 42.5 percent compared to the 42.2 percent recorded in May.
Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the government Statistician, has identified food and non-food items as the primary contributors to this inflationary trend, accounting for 54.2 percent and 33.4 percent respectively.
Within the local market, the inflation rate for domestically produced items stood at 35.9 percent, while imported items experienced a higher inflation rate of 44.5 percent.