Price Of Rice Shoots Up By 12% Ahead of Christmas

The price of imported rice has gone up by 12% ahead of the Christmas season.Currently, a 5kg bag of rice is being sold on the market for GHc28.00. As at the last week of November, the price of the same quantity of (imported-uncle Sam) rice was sold at GHc25.00

The increase places rice as the highest gainer in commodities in the country at the beginning of December 2015. According to Esoko Ghana which checks the prices of food on all the markets across the country, the increase was as a result of the impending Christmas festivities. 

Francis Danso Adjei, Content Manager at Esoko noted that “in the case of rice, the price is determined by the volumes that go into the market. The increase means that the quantity going to the market is quite low and that people have started buying rice, so demand outweighs the supply in the market.”

The increase in the price of rice was followed by Maize which made a 2% gain to close the week at GHc 4.00 per olunka.

Yam (Pona) also followed with a percentage gain to close the week at GHc 3.60.

Soya bean dropped by 7% to close the week at GHc 5.90 per olunka.

However, according to Esoko Ghana, cassava (fresh tubers) and groundnut, dropped by 2 percent each to close the week at GHc 4.50 and 12 .70 per “3-4 tubers” and “olunka” respectively.

The other commodity prices remained the unchanged.

On the various markets, the price for an “olunka” of maize gained by 20 percent in Bawku to close the week at GHc 3.00, it also gained a percentage point in Techiman to close the week at GHc 3.00 and dropped by 2% in Kumasi to close the week at GHc 5.00.

Tamale

In Tamale it gained a percentage point to close the week at GHc 4.00, whiles in the other markets the price remained the same.

A “medium size tomato tin” full of fresh tomatoes lost 13 percent in Accra to close the week at GHc 18.00 with Techiman losing 13 percent to close at GHc 10.10 and also Dambai dropping 19 percent to close at GHc 7.20.

Kumasi

The commodity however made some gains in Kumasi, Tamale and Takoradi.

In Kumasi, it gained 5 percent to close at GHC 9.50 and in Tamale by 22 percent to close the week at GHC 6.60.

Takoradi

Takoradi had 20 percent to close the week at GHC 21.60. In the other markets prices remained the same.

Meanwhile, Esoko Ghana wished farmers and fishermen in the country “Ayekoo” for  “feeding the nation.”