The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has said that the price hikes in fuel have been exaggerated to be the cause of the prices of food in the country.
“Prices of food have been over-exaggerated, using fuel hikes as a justification by traders,” the Minister told Parliament on Wednesday.
He pointed out food prices are normal and cheap in the producing regions as compared to the hikes in the cities.
He emphasised that though fuel prices are on the rise, it cannot be solely attributed to the high cost of foodstuffs in the cities.
“Prices in urban areas, particularly in Accra, are a far cry from what pertains in production centres in the regions. Many attribute this to the high increase in fuel and the costs of transportation, while this may be true to some extent, our analysis reveals that this may be exaggerated.
“Government and the Ministry are arranging to transport food from the production centres directly to Accra to provide food at reasonable prices,” he said.
He revealed that from next week, a small market will be set up at the Ministry of Agriculture to allow people to walk in and buy foodstuffs at a cheaper price.
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He made these statements when the Member of Parliament for Gomoa East, Desmond De-Graft Paitoo, asked about the measures the Ministry was putting in place to ensure food security in the country.
The Minister added to prevent food shortages and waste surpluses, the government is building eight warehouses across the country to store more food to ensure food security is guaranteed.