The Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association has announced a potential price increase starting next week due to the cedi’s depreciation.
Customers should brace for higher costs for spare parts and related services.
This price hike occurs amid ongoing volatility of the local currency, raising significant concerns among businesses.
Some spare parts importers, speaking anonymously in an interview, mentioned that they now need to pay more to import the same quantity of goods.
This situation forces them to increase prices. Takyi Addo, the Head of Communications for the Association, stated that the prices of spare parts are expected to rise in the coming week.
“Definitely we are going to experience a price increase because for Ghana we don’t do exports. We do imports. So the moment there is a dollar-cedi-differential, whenever it affects the local currency, definitely the prices will go up… We will see different prices from now to next week”.
He added that, despite the impending price surge, the Association does not have the authority to set spare parts prices; that responsibility lies with the dealers.
The troubles of the Ghana cedi may not be over, as market watchers predict it could reach between 15 and 16 cedi to the dollar by the end of the year.
Bloomberg, a renowned financial and media company, has also forecasted further depreciation of the Ghana cedi by year-end.
The prediction aligns with Bloomberg’s forecast that the cedi is anticipated to reach GH¢15.98 against the dollar.
A visit to some forex bureaus on Wednesday, May 15, revealed that the dollar is trading between ¢14.90 and ¢15.00 on the forex market.