John Kumah, a Deputy Finance Minister, says the government still has its sights set on stabilising inflation around its 8 percent target.
This is despite inflation continuing to rise, reaching 27.6 percent in May, amid a cost-of-living crisis.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Kumah said, “where we are is way overboard, and we are not happy with it.”
“But we strongly believe that we will quickly come back within the target of 8 percent,” he added.
Food inflation rose again to a record 30.1 percent, compared to 26.6 percent recorded in April.
Mr. Kumah said this inflation was not a result of shortage on the supply side of food.
“The reason why the costs have gone up is the price of transport, and there have been consistent increments in fuel prices at the pump.”
He assured that the government was working to remedy these challenges.
“In fact, the mid-year budget is coming. We are going to take several initiatives to address some of these important inflation concerns in our country.”
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Also speaking on Eyewitness News, economic journalist Toma Emihere said profiteering along the food chain was contributing to the high inflation rate in the country.
“We have an inefficient supply chain for food,” he explained.
“By the time it gets to consumer markets in southern markets and the major urban centres, it is more than twice the farm gate price.”
He thus suggested that the government use fiscal incentives to tackle issues in a holistic manner because “the supply chain is too fragmented.”
As an example, he said, there could be one company that buys from the farm gate and delivers to retailers in Accra.
