Johnson Ayine admits rising food prices in Northern Ghana is worrying

“This is not a problem that can be solved easily. This is the period for harvest in Northern Ghana. This is the period where we have prices of commodities, especially foodstuffs, at lower prices. If you are buying food at a higher price at this time, it is so worrying. The yields weren’t that good. The earlier, we respond to this, the better.”

Johnson Ayine, a member of the NPP’s Upper East Regional Communication Team, said this when he spoke on A1 Radio’s flagship political programme, Critical Issues. 

He said this in connection to the current national inflation rate of 40.4 percent. 

The Upper East Region has recorded the overall second highest inflation for the month of October, 2022. This is according to the Ghana Statistical Service’s Consumer Price Index for October 2022.

The Region recorded an overall inflation rate of 33.6 percent. The North East Region followed closely with an inflation rate of 33.1 percent. The Northern Region was fourth among the 5 regions of the north with an inflation rate of 27.3 percent while the Upper West Region recorded an inflation rate of 27 percent for the month of October.

The region with the highest overall highest inflation rate in northern Ghana was the Savannah Region with a rate of 47.6 percent.

For food inflation, Savannah Region topped with 49.7 percent while the Upper West Region followed with a rate of 44.4 percent. The North East Region came in close third with a rate of 36.6 percent. The Upper East Region and the Northern Region recorded food inflation rates of 34.9 percent and 28.2 percent respectively.

32.9 percent was the inflation rate for the non-food basket for the Upper East Region. The situation has the NPP Communicator spooked. 

Mr. Ayine explained that the continuous dependence on imports plays a contributory role in the soaring inflation rates. 

“The PNDC era, because it was a revolutionary period, it used the military to embark on price control so prices of commodities were somehow better. Immediately we returned to civilian rule, we started experiencing these price hikes. The importation was to curb the price increases. Those things that were being imported, were lower and to complement what was produced in Ghana. That helped control price.”

He continued to say that as demand increased and exports grew, the pressure for more dollars to be supplied grew as well and “the negative aspect is that, it is putting pressure on our currency.”

Mr. Ayine called on the relevant stakeholders to help curb the rising rates of inflation.

Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana