Tomatoes sellers cry for help

The leadership of the Greater Accra Tomato Traders Association on Thursday called on the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Ga Traditional Authorities and the security agencies to help restore sanity in the trade and rid it of recalcitrant elements.

Making the call at a meeting in Accra, Madam Lydia Afoley Anum, General Secretary of the Association, bemoaned huge financial losses being incurred by members due to activities of some sellers who deliberately flout the rules of the Association and city authorities in order to get supply on credit basis from Burkina Faso.

She explained that those elements usually engaged in crediting of the produce from farming communities in Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Madam Anum alleged that these sellers sent younger traders to assist large scale tomato farmers on their farms in Burkina Faso in order to continue to have supply on credit.

According to her, they managed to convince farmers to transport huge loads of tomatoes all the way from Techiman, the Northern regions and Burkina Faso to Accra to cause glut on the market, which eventually pushes the price down.

She also accused others as charging ground rent for off-loading of the produce without recourse to the laws of the AMA and traditional authorities.

She said there was the need to strengthen the national association in order to protect the tomato trade, adding that they have to weed out the intransigent ones so as to prevent the smooth running of the business.

Madam Anum advised members to adhere strictly to the schedule system of going and bringing tomatoes to the marketing centres to avoid glut and spoilage to their own detriment.