Traders Cry Out

Some traders at the Agbogbloshie Market in Accra have pleaded with the Government to put effective measures in place to alleviate the suffering of most Ghanaians.

Barbra Tetteh, a yam seller at the market, who disclosed this to CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE, explained that the increase in the prices of yam, cassava, plantain, gari, cocoyam, sweet potatoes and other commodities on the market was creating more problems for ordinary consumers whose income are meager.

This, she noted, has made life unbearable for traders, their families and every body in the country.

“My husband has lost his job for the past three years and I am the bread winner for the family now. It will be difficult to continue to cater for the family if things continue like this. I am worried about the children’s school fees,” she noted.

Mrs. Tetteh said the afore-mentioned food items used to be among the cheapest commodities that people bought regardless of their financial status.

“But how many people can purchase these commodities now? Customers just get angry and leave our stands when we mention the prices of our food items.

“A number of people cannot boldly enjoy their delicious ‘fufu’ as they used to do due to the high cost of plantain and cassava. I have been selling yam for the past 38 years and this has been the first time yam prices in the country have increased to this level,” she noted.

“You sometimes feel the anguish on customer’s faces when you mention the prices of yam, cassava and plantain. Immediately, they turn away from your stand thinking that traders are cheating them.

Aba Arthur, a cassava seller at the market, hinted that they travel all the way to Kintampo and other remote areas to purchase cassava, stressing that the fares are expensive.

She said loans contracted by some of the traders continue to accrue interest generating additional problems and called on President Mills to quickly come to their aid.