A tomato shortage is being predicted in Ghana in the coming months,
due to hikes in the exchange rate of the Ghana Cedi against the CFA Franc, as most of the tomatoes consumed in the country are imported from Cote d'Ivoire.
Tomato traders in Accra say they spend as much as CFA600,000, the equivalent of GHC400 in importing a box of tomatoes, which they sell at GHC250.
The traders are however not prepared to keep reducing prices to satisfy their customers. They say they will either stop selling the vegetables or increase the prices to meet the costs of production.
Based on these developments, the Agriculture Resource Information outfit, Esoko Ghana is predicting drastic increases in prices in the coming months.
In figures released by Esoko last week, prices of some household staples saw an increase for the second week in February, 2016.
The prices of tomatoes, however, dropped for the third consecutive week since January 21. According to Esoko, the prices of tomatoes dipped by 11 percent to end the second week of February with an average price of GHC6.90 per medium tin.
(1 Ghanaian Cedi = 0.252 USD)
Source: pulse.com.gh