Prices of goods to go up soon

The Ghana Union of Traders Association, GUTA says the prices of goods will soon go up if the coronavirus is not curtailed.

According to GUTA, the inability of traders to go to China and restock will result in the increment of prices. 

Traders are unable to go to China to bring goods and will soon run out of stock which will affect prices due to the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

National Welfare Officer for GUTA, Benjamin Yeboah in an interview with Citi FM said the situation will affect both producers and consumers.

He noted that traders will be forced to go to other countries to bring their goods but may not be at a low price as compared to China. 

"Most of them are still in Ghana and cannot go and bring goods, this poses a threat to the goods that they buy and we are going to run short which will affect the prices of goods if they don't get an antidote for this virus as soon as possible and it runs to the middle of this year, we heard some of the companies have closed down, people may be forced to bring goods from other areas which may cause price hike because price from those areas might not be as low as China.."

Gov't ships food items to stranded Ghanaian students in China

The government has dispatched cartons of assorted local food items to China to be distributed to 151 Ghanaian students stranded in Wuhan, the epicentre of the new coronavirus disease.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey who announced this, said the items had been shipped to Ghana’s Mission in Beijing for onward delivery to the students in the locked-down Wuhan city.

Speaking at a meeting with a delegation from the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) Tuesday, February 18, Madam Botchwey further disclosed that her Ministry has granted approval for the Ghana Mission in Beijing to expend an amount of ¥100,000 (USD$14,286) to cater for emergency needs, such as provision of nose masks, hand sanitizers and food items, especially for Ghanaians in Wuhan and its environs.

“Additional amounts of US$50,000.00 and US$200,000.00 have been transferred separately to the Mission in Beijing to cater for the emergency needs of the students. The Mission is working with the student leadership in Wuhan to collate the names and bank details of beneficiary students. The accounts of students are expected to be credited by Wednesday, 20th February 2020,” she said.