Cedi appreciation positive news for Ghana’s pharmaceutical sector - Harrison Abutiate

Chairman of Ghana National Chamber of Pharmacy, Harrison K. Abutiate, has given positive plaudits to the recent appreciation of the Ghana cedi against major trading currencies.

In the past week, the local currency has strengthened by about 11 percent to the US dollar to sell around GH¢11 to US$1 as of December 14 on the forex retail market while its being bought at GH¢10.40 to US$1 on the interbank market.

Reacting to the development in an interview with GhanaWeb Business, Harrison K. Abutiate said the appreciation is welcome news for the pharmaceutical industry and therefore requires stakeholders to hold engagements on reducing the prices of products.

“If prices of the pharma products have been going up due to the cedi’s instability, now that the currency is appreciating, we must also consider measures to take toward bringing prices further down. It’s a wonderful development and we are praying that the trend will continue”

He, therefore, called for the encouragement of sales through lower prices to ensure that businesses and consumers can all benefit from the recent trend of the local currency which has suffered persistent depreciation since the start of this year.

“For us in the pharmaceutical industry, we must set the good example of looking to bring down prices of products to reflect the appreciation and stability of the local currency”

Touching on certain interventions the Chamber is adopting to mitigate the current economic challenges, Mr Abutiate advocated for the swift payment of funds owed by stakeholders who purchase pharmaceutical products on credit.

“For instance, If I go for bank loan to do my business and if you take my products without paying back on time, it would gradually erode my capital base and that unfortunately some of our members are doing. They must however change this strategy to ensure we can all stay in business.”

Chairman of the Ghana National Chamber of Pharmacy however lauded participants of the just-ended Ghana-India Pharma Business Summit in Accra. It was under theme; ‘Managing the Economic Challenges in Pharma Business in Ghana’

Mr Abutiate also stressed for increased collaboration and efficiency in the delivery of pharma needs to address healthcare needs in the country and boost Ghana’s manufacturing efforts.

Meanwhile, an Administrative Officer & Digital Marketer at Ghana National Chamber of Pharmacy Samuel Kwame Boadu added that, “the Summit along the exhibition provide the platform for pharmaceutical manufacturers, suppliers and importers to discuss ways to partner with each other to help catalyse the growth of the pharmaceutical industry and improve investment”

MA/FNOQ