PRICES of food crops in the country last December, remained relatively stable despite record food price hikes in the global market.
Prices of local food staples such as maize, rice, millet, yam, cassava and vegetables such as tomatoes, and pepper remained stable throughout 2010, according to statistics obtained from the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate (SRID) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).
Global food prices in December last year, hit a record high in the international market, higher than that of the June 2008 price hikes which caused lots of agitation in many countries world-wide.
The December 2010 edition of the monthly Food Price Index released by the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) recorded 214.7 points that indicated an increase of 206 points over the November index, making it the highest since the index started in 1990.
The index tracks the monthly price changes in the prices for a food basket comprising wheat, corn, rice, oilseeds, dairy products, sugar and meats in the global scene.
Though the December 2010 index indicated a record hike in food prices, the December price, according to the FAO, was driven by the rising prices of sugar, cereal, meat and oil, making it different, and perhaps an encouraging news when compared with the 2008 price surge which was mainly due to lower food productions in most countries.
In Ghana, however, the situation as of December 2010 was encouraging with food prices in the local markets remaining relatively stable.
With the increment in the prices of petroleum products coming at the back of the global food price surge, local experts fear the situation could stretch food prices in the country up.
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| Kwesi Ahwoi, Minster of Agriculture |
The Director of the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate (SRID) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Mr Samuel Oku, was however optimistic that a food price surge would be avoided.
He told the Graphic Business that prices of local food crops had seen insignificant changes in December and 2010 as a whole.
The prices of stables such as maize, local rice, millet, cassava and yam, according to Mr Oku, had all been stable throughout the last twelve months with monthly average prices recording relatively insignificant changes.
The average price, he said, ranged between GH¢45 and GH¢80 for cereals; GH¢ 24 and GH¢220 for tubers, GH¢30 and GH¢180 for vegetables, and GH¢6 and GH¢25 for smoked herrings and a crate of eggs.
However, he said, imported rice consistently recorded increments in price from January to December 2010 with November recording the highest price hikes.
The SRID director attributed the stability in general prices to increased food production in the country and thus expressed optimism that the increases in food prices on the global market would have less effect on the local scene.
“If prices at the moment are even stable, then I don’t know when they would be up,” Mr Oku asked, adding that the coming harvest season was likely to stabilise the prices even further.
The present soaring food prices in the global market has already caused wide spread fears among policy-makers in some countries as it could lead to social and economic unrest as inflation would be induced.
The BBC last week reported protests already taking place in Algeria over soaring food prices in there.
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| Ban Ki-Moo, UN Secretay General |
The UN has warned that the current price levels, especially those of key grains, could rise even further.
As a result, the Group of 20 leading economies (G-20) plans to discuss ways of tackling the current soaring food prices in its Paris summit later this year.
The 2008 global food crisis rocked the globe at the time Ghana was recovering from the 2006 droughts, which caused poor harvests among most farmers as well as the 2007 floods that destroyed large hectares of farmlands in northern Ghana and further caused matured crops to rot, due to farmers inability to harvest their crops from the flooding waters.
While Ghana at the time was recovering from the 2006 droughts and the 2007 floods as well as their collective harshness in the country, the world was bracing itself for a food crisis in 2008.
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