Ginger traders at the ‘MasomMasom’ Market in Sunyani have appealed to the government to intervene in the ginger supply chain as scarcity and rising prices threaten their businesses.
The traders said the difficulty in accessing adequate quantities of ginger had increased their operating costs and made it increasingly difficult to sustain their livelihoods.
A market survey by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) found that a bag of ginger was currently selling for about GH¢5,500, with traders attributing the price increase largely to dwindling supplies.
One of the traders, popularly known as Auntie Esi, said although the current price represented an improvement compared with the previous season, ginger remained expensive.
She recalled that a bag of ginger sold at about GH¢7,000 at the farmgate during the last season.
According to her, the growing demand for ginger by herbal medicine producers was contributing to the shortage, as producers were purchasing the crop in large quantities and offering farmers better prices.
“The growers now prefer to sell ginger to the herbal doctor to get a good price,” she said.
She explained that the situation was putting ordinary ginger traders at a disadvantage because they could not compete with herbal medicine producers for available supplies.
The traders therefore called for measures to increase ginger production and improve access to the commodity to protect their businesses and livelihoods.
Another trader, Madam Leticia Amponsah Gyan, said the high cost of ginger was also affecting consumer demand.
She noted that traders had to sell ginger in portions ranging from GH¢10 to GH¢20, but some consumers were reluctant to buy at those prices.
The traders said without interventions to address the supply constraints and rising prices, their businesses could face further difficulties.
