Maize price inches up in Techiman

The price of maize in the Techiman market, a key grains trading market in the country experienced 8 and 6 percent increase in wholesale and retail trading respectively in the week ended July 8, compared to the previous week's price per kilo. However, the average per kilo price of the commodity in the week, for the covered markets was a mere increase of GHC0.01 in both retail and wholesale trading, suggesting that whereas retail trading has remained fairly stable, the potential price increase in key wholesale markets is yet to reflect on the overall maize market in the country. Maize remains an important staple food in Ghana and according to Esoko market watchers, the arrival of new stocks is having a significant impact on the market. Apart from noticeable price differentials between the old and the new stocks of maize, which is mostly influenced by consumer taste, there are no other changes in market dynamics to suggest that the price of maize would shift significantly in the coming weeks. The Esoko Ghana Commodity Index closed the week at 26238 points for the retail index (EGCI-R) and 9515 points for the wholesale index (EGCI-W). Last week, the index closed the week as follows: EGCI-W, 8635 points and EGCI-R, 23255 points.

Stable commodity prices good for business
Covered markets by Esoko have shown a fairly stable market price for key commodities in the country. The percentage average price change in the past few weeks has been marginal. The wholesale price of groundnut was the only commodity to experience more than GHC0.05 increase in the week. Most of the other commodities experienced a price increase of below GHC0.50 with the price of tomatoes actually falling by GHC0.20. In the Techiman market, the wholesale price of tomato (cooking) dropped by 29 per cent, with the retail price dropping by 25 per cent.

Source: Esoko