Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment has informed the business community in the country to resume normal trading and business activities including export and re-export of essential commodities.
The Ministry said in a statement made available to the press on Tuesday that the announcement by the government of The Gambia on lifting of the State of Public Emergency and its underlining regulations with the objective of minimizing COVID-19 shock on poverty levels in the country and on the vulnerable farming population as well as youths operating in the informal sector.
The statement said, the Essential Commodities Emergency Powers Regulation 2020 which was enforced under the State of Public Emergency has also been lifted.
The Ministry urged that the associated regulated price schedule which aims at containing unreasonable price hikes during the pandemic has also been lifted.
In line with the overall free market policy and free trading environment, the wholesale and retail prices of essential commodities will continue to be determined by the market.
The business community is reminded to avoid any anti-competitive practice including hoarding, price hiking and rationing as they are against the competition rules. Given that we are in Tobaski, (Eid al-Adha), feast period the business community is encouraged to step up efforts to ensure the continuous availability of essential commodities and be reasonable in pricing,” the statement stated.
In the statement, also the Ministry will continue to monitor the developments in both the international and domestic market and will advise government accordingly to take appropriate actions when necessary to ensure the availability and affordability of essential commodities.
The statement pointed out that the business community while undertaking the normal trading activities, is strongly advised to follow and comply with the Ministry of Health and WHO COVID -19 guidelines and regulations in order to contain the spread of the virus.