The Ashaiman Timber Market Traders’ Association (ATMTA) has appealed to the Government to support the wood industry from imminent collapse as the high cost of petroleum products affects the sector.
They decried the harsh conditions they are faced with because of hikes in fuel prices and the depreciating of the Ghanaian cedi against other foreign currencies.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Ashaiman Wood Market, Mr Anthony Partey Asare, the ATMTA Chairman, stated that wood traders had been affected by the recent economic crises in the country.
He said the wood processing sector was an essential downstream economic activity within the value-chain of the forestry subsector, which must be protected especially in the face of the rising cost of living in Ghana.
Mr Asare said the wood processing subsector was a major source of employment, value addition, and foreign exchange earnings, but neglected over the years however the government to fulfil the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda must support the wood sector.
Despite the growth and employment potential of the subsector, wood processing has witnessed little investment and development with no major transformation over the last three decades.
The ATMTA Chairman said the limited investment in the subsector had deprived the country of harnessing its growth and employment potential over time.
He, however, noted that the persistent increase in prices of goods and services was having some negative impact on the traders in the market, patronage has dropped dramatically as people complained about soaring prices and are unwilling to buy.
Mr Asare added that traders in the feed mill, poultry, wood, and hardware products business could face imminent collapse if nothing were done to mitigate the situation.
He mentioned that prices of nails, roofing sheets, and other products were doubled within a pace of two weeks, a situation he said compelled most customers to coil back any time they visited the market to purchase items for their projects.
Mr Asare called on the government to put in measures to salvage the situation saying that the rate at which the cedi was depreciating against the dollar and other major foreign currencies as well as the recent hikes in fuel prices was alarming.
‘Government must do something, and it should be now.
GNA
