Food prices in Ghana, according to Dr. Bryan Acheampong, Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), have dropped significantly in recent months.

He credits the government’s sensible actions, which he claims are producing excellent outcomes, for this reduction.

Speaking to media in Accra outside the Ministry’s premises during the Agric Fair, Dr. Acheampong pointed out that although food product prices have dropped, middlemen’s profiteering has resulted in certain consumers still paying exorbitant rates.

“We have been able to bring the price of maize down by 50%. And it is not just the maize. With regard to a lot of the cereals, the prices are dropping. Maize that used to sell at the same time last year at GH¢300 for 50kg bag now is GH¢148, the maximum that you get is GH¢150 which means that there is a 50% drop in the price of maize.”

“But nobody is talking about it because you don’t see it translate into the price of a ball of kenkey. It means that there’s someone in the middle who is pocketing the profit,” he stated.

Retail prices are rising far faster than wholesale costs, which suggests that inadequate competition may be to blame for Ghanaian consumers’ unjust food prices.

Food items like sorghum, onions, and gari have been identified as major markets of concern; national authorities are advised to look into this and take appropriate action.

Experts from Ghana and throughout the world are alerting people to the fact that some market participants are profiting astronomically during this food crisis, at the expense of overcharged consumers and underpaid farmers.