The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has described as alarming the recent hikes in prices of petroleum products in the country.
Fuel prices at the local pumps shot up by about 5.4 per cent from September 1, 2022, with petrol and diesel trading at an average GHS 11.55 and GHS 14.50 respectively.
In the beginning of the year, petrol and diesel were trading at an average GHS6.9 and GHS7.0 per litre respectively.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Abass Imoro, Head of Communications, GPRTU, said the rate of increment in the last few weeks would affect the income of commercial drivers.
“We are almost in a buy-and-sell business. The rate at which we are buying (fuel) now is alarming. It is really affecting our business,” he said.
Mr Imoro said the leadership of the GPRTU would meet this week to deliberate on the increasing fuel prices and consider policy decisions that would limit the impact on its members.
Asked if the meeting would decide on increment in transport fares, he said: “We have to reflect on the whole issue before we take a decision.”
In the last pricing window (which ended on August 31, 2022), the national average price per litre of petrol stood at GHS10.95, up from GHS10.58 in the previous window, representing a 3.50 per cent increase.
Diesel national average price per litre also stood at GHS 13.42 from a previous average of GHS13.28, representing a 1.05 per cent increase, according to data compiled by the Institute for Energy Security (IES).
The IES had projected that petrol and diesel prices would go up by 5 per cent to 10 per cent at the various pumps in the current pricing window, adding close to 70p per litre to the existing prices.
“The sharp depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against the US Dollar at over 10 per cent is identified as the main cause for this rise.
“Consumers are advised to plan accordingly to the expected price hikes in the coming days,” it said.