The President of Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng has disclosed that most members lost 55% to 60% of their capital as a result of the economic crisis in 2022.
According to him, the rise in inflation, interest and exchange rates had adverse impact on businesses.
“The year 2022 was very challenging with the rise in inflation, interest rate and exchange rate. All of the above did not favour traders. Because of this, most of us lost between 55 to 60 percent of our capital. The value of the capital was reduced.”
Speaking in an interview on Adom TV’S Badwam show, Dr Obeng said the union was able to survive the economic crisis because stringent measures were put in place.
“The strike we embarked [upon] became a wake-up call for government. We also applied some trading tactics and trading wisdom in order not to lose our capital and that is what has helped us survive. Also, the grace and strength from God helped us get here.”
He added that some traders refused to reduce prices of products because importers had purchased more dollars due to predictions of further depreciation of the cedi.
He further explained that retailers could not reduce product prices because they had already purchased the products at higher costs from importers (wholesalers).
Ghana Traders Union Association (GUTA) on October 19 embarked on a strike action due to government’s refusal to address their concerns on the harsh economic conditions.
In 2022, Ghana faced inflation surges and rapid cedi depreciation which resulted in price hikes of goods and services. However in December, the cedi appreciated which led to the reduction of oil products and goods in the markets.
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