Traders at the Central Market in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region are crying over low patronage of their goods ahead of the Christmas festivities.
According to them, though people are trooping to the market as the yuletide season approaches, the rate of buying was at an all time low.
The traders told Daily Guide in an interview that people come to the market to undertake window shopping.
They said goods abound in the market but people were unable to buy them because of the high prices due to the sky-rocketing importation cost, coupled with exorbitant taxes, among others.
“When they come they express the desire to purchase the goods, but when the price is mentioned to them, they retreat and tell you that they will come back later,” one of the traders indicated.
The traders argued that they spend huge sums of money to import goods from other countries. “We are even being charitable because if we are to charge realistic prices for our goods, then people cannot buy anything from the market,” a trader at the railway line of the market told DAILY GUIDE.
The traders said because people are not buying at the expected rate characteristic of the Christmas period, they sometimes open their shops without making much sales.
They noted that if the slow pace of business at the market is anything to go by, then this year’s Christmas season might go down in history as the most boring in the country.
“If the Christmas is going to be promising, then we should have started feeling the atmosphere where people would buy goods in the market, especially goods commonly used in the season,” a disappointed trader told the paper at ‘18’ mu.
Attributing the current situation to the Mills administration, the traders entreated government to implement economic policies that would improve the lives of the people.
They noted that the much touted low inflation is insignificant to the environment in the market for the reason that it does not boost the finances of the people to enable them buy what they want.
The traders also enjoined government to reduce taxes traders pay at the ports to clear their goods and also stabilize the cedi against the dollar to ensure that traders do not incur huge cost in importing goods into the country.
“If traders are relieved a bit at the ports and also do not have to bring more cedis for few dollars, the prices of goods could go down drastically for people to afford,” a rice importer at the rice joint in the market observed.
Source: Morgan Owusu, Kumasi
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