Cedi to depreciate further if we depend largely on imported goods - Ofori-Atta

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said it is about time Ghanaians change their taste for foreign goods.

According to him, the change in expenditure pattern will ease the pressure on the cedi as goods would be patronized from local manufacturers.

He called on Ghanaians to invest in local businesses to enhance their production capacity for exports.

Appearing before the ad hoc committee in parliament on Friday, November 18, 2022, Ken Ofori-Atta said, "It is time to have honest conversations on the patterns of expenditure as a people, our preference for imported goods which require foreign exchange that we do not earn enough of implies our cedi will continue to be under pressure."

"It has become clear that we cannot continue in a business usual mode, we have to significantly change our consumption patterns and support investments in local capacity for production and export," he added.

The cedi has in recent times depreciated against major trading currencies.

It depreciated further in October 2022 by 9.6%.

In a Bloomberg report, it makes the total loss of the cedi in 2022 almost 52%, the highest recorded in 22 years.

The free fall of the cedi now places the currency at the 148 position of worst performing currencies in the world.

Meanwhile, on the interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana, the cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 13.0991 and a selling price of 13.1123.

Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.4216 and a selling price of 15.4462

ESA/FNOQ

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