THE PRICES of items produced for the Ghana@50 anniversary celebration, especially textiles have almost doubled.
Prices of souvenirs with the Ghana@50 logo, such as mugs, plates, wax prints, scarves, mufflers, hats, hand bags, key holders and cufflings, among others, have gone up due to their high demand.
For instance, the wax print which was originally quoted at ˘150,000, now went for ˘240,000 at the Ghana Trade Fair Centre where the 11th Ghana International Trade Fair is on-going.
When the fair opened on February 21, this year, a half-piece (6 yards) of the print sold for ˘150,000, but as at Saturday February 24, the price had almost doubled as it was being sold for ˘240,000.
This comes on the heels of recent complaints by a number of Ghanaians that the cheap Chinese textiles which had flooded the Ghanaian market were a big threat to the local industry.
The wax print, whether from Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL) or Printex, was on sale in shops outside the fair at ˘240,000, and above.
The prices for other paraphernalia have also increased tremendously and traders explained that the demand was now higher than it used to be, with the climax of the celebration getting closer by the day.
A trader at the Trade Fair, Stella, who has strategically displayed the Ghana@50 paraphernalia in a tent directly in front of Pavilion ‘A’, in an interview said her outlet, a retail shop, came out with the new prices after it run out of the old stock.
She said the increase in prices was not intentional. “We have not increased the prices with any bad intentions. The prices have gone up at the factories and there is nothing we can do.”
Pointing to a shop directly opposite hers, she said, “Even that woman sells the half-piece for ˘250,000.”
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