The government has met the leadership of some trade groups and transport operators in what is the first of a series of engagements with key sector players within the Ghanaian economy.

The three-hour engagement session took place in Accra on Monday, June 27, 2022, and provides the government with an opportunity to assess the impact of the economic mitigation measures it announced in March 2022.

Present at the engagement was the Senior Advisor to the President, Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo; Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Agriculture Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the leadership of various trade groups, market queens and transport operators.

The traders, during the session, attributed the high prices of food commodities in the markets to the increase in fuel prices, high cost of value chain activities and the seasonality of food products.

They said the high cost of haulage of food commodities from the farm gates to market centres significantly influences the prices of food products in the market and called on the government to consider a reduction in fuel prices.

Speaking specifically on interventions in the sector, Dr Akoto remarked that though the government, for its part, is doing all it can to address these concerns, the traders should also see to it that food items in the market are not overpriced.

The transport operators also bemoaned the unfavourable increase in ex-pump prices of petrol and diesel; the high cost of spare parts and its associated impact on their transport businesses.

The group acknowledged that the burden would have been worse had the government, in the past month, not scrapped some levies in the fuel price build-up.

They, thus, appealed to the government to further scrap some taxes on petroleum products to cushion the burden on consumers and enable them to sustain their businesses.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah, in his closing remarks, commended the groups for the views expressed and noted that they were all geared toward helping the government address the rising food and fuel prices in the country.

He assured them that necessary actions will be taken to lessen the burden on Ghanaians, as reports will be conveyed to Cabinet for implementation.