Sweet pepper glut cause price fall in Kumasi

Sweet pepper glut in Kumasi - the nation’s second largest city, has forced a significant reduction in price of the commodity.

A market survey conducted by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Business Desk, showed that a bag of sweet pepper, which sold at GHC500.00 in March, is now selling at GHC300.00.

This represents a price decline of 60 per cent.

In contrast, consumers have had to pay more for onions and tomatoes.

The prices of these vegetables had shot up by over 100 per cent since January, with a bag of onion going for GHC250.00 from GHC120.00.

A box of fresh tomatoes, on the other hand, has hit GHC600.00 from the low of GHC200.00 at the start of the year.

Ms. Florence Oppong-Yeboah, a pepper seller at “Dr. Mensah” said the market price fall was the result of huge volumes of pepper brought in from neighbouring Burkina Faso, Cote d’ Ivoire and Niger.

She said the situation had led to sharp dwindle in profit and badly affecting their incomes.

Madam Faustina Mensah Frimpong, a tomato seller, blamed the price hike to high production and transportation cost.

Significant proportion of fresh tomatoes on the market come from outside the country.

She is forecasting further rise in the price of the vegetable due to the change in the rainfall pattern.