Ghanaian importers have expressed worry over the depreciation of the cedi against foreign currencies like the US dollar and the Pound.
According to the importers, the gradual depreciation of the Ghana cedi against these two major currencies is taking a toll on their businesses.
The US dollar is selling at between ¢5.00 and ¢5.20. Meanwhile, checks on Monday indicated that some currency dealers are asking for ¢5.30 and ¢5.32 for a dollar.
They argue that there is a limited supply of dollars for business. Other believe that the woes of the cedi is worse because there is more cedi chasing few dollars for businesses.
Most importers explain that they need the dollars to import products which they sell on the Ghanaian market.
In an interview with Accra-based Joy FM, some traders said the cedi depreciation is affecting their profits.
“None of the items I sell is manufactured in this country, and after selling I have to change my money into dollars to travel abroad to buy new products. Since one cannot travel every week, by the time you finish selling to gather a substantial amount to go and buy the dollar you would have lost a lot of money,” an importer of computers in Accra said.
She added that she loses more money when a customer buys in bulk or order things in bulk. She explained that she is compelled to change a lot of dollars to quickly meet this demand.
“Only last week, someone requested a number of goods and after changing my cedis into dollars, I lost close to ¢6000. And this is too much and you are left with nothing after paying utilities,” she lamented.
Some of the currency dealers and traders have also blamed the Bank of Ghana arguing that things would have been better if the dollars had been on the market.
Meanwhile, some economists have also called on the Bank of Ghana to step in now and not wait for things to get out of hand before it reacts.
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