By Jeremiah Nutsugah and Gloria Amoh.
Market women at Mallam Market have expressed dissatisfaction with the persistently fluctuating prices of tomatoes when purchased wholesale.
They argue that the instability in wholesale prices is adversely affecting their businesses, resulting in losses rather than profits and a decline in customer patronage.
In an interview, a seller, Aunty Esi, raised deep concerns about the unpredictable wholesale prices, pointing out that traditionally, tomato prices tend to decrease after Christmas. However, this year has been an exception, with wholesale prices consistently on the rise.
“After last year’s Christmas, we anticipated a decrease in tomato prices, but that hasn’t been the case. Post-Christmas, we usually buy tomatoes wholesale for GHC300, or at most, GHC400, allowing us to make a profit,” she explained.
She highlighted the recent trend, stating, “Last month, wholesale prices for tomatoes were GHC2000, with an immediate increase the next day, reaching GHC3000. Even this Tuesday, the price dropped to GHC1200, but within a few days from Friday until now, prices have surged from GHC1200 to GHC2500 for local tomatoes, excluding the foreign ones.”
Aunty Esi called on the government to pay attention to the agriculture sector, emphasising the need for easier transportation of these locally produced tomatoes to motivate farmers.
Another seller, Amaria, expressed the difficulty of living in Ghana due to the unaffordability of tomatoes, peppers, and onions.
She lamented, “We might as well move to Burkina Faso because staying in Ghana has become challenging,” attributing it to the current hardships in the country.
“People used to buy tomatoes regularly, but now it’s become infrequent, resulting in profit loss and dwindling customer numbers.”
