By Yunus S Saliu
Taking into consideration different factors contributing to the price hikes in the domestic market, Honourable Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof, the Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MOTIE) has revealed the government of the Gambia adopted measures to contain and mitigate the external shocks on the stocks and prices of essential commodities in the domestic market.
The Minister outlined these measures on Monday at an organized press briefing held at the Ministry Conference Hall in Banjul.
According to him, he said the Government has successfully negotiated with the government of India to secure a waiver for the importation of rice in 2023. Accordingly, the Government of India allocated the first quota of 100,000 MTs to The Gambia. Following this allocation, he said his Ministry worked with a number of importers to lift these consignments – “a total of 63,650MT of rice were imported under the Indian Waiver.”
He said the second quota allocation of 50,000 MT was also approved for the Gambia in 2023 making a total of 150,000 MT for The Gambia. Following the approval of the second quota, “the Ministry is working with some importers to utilize the quota. These new allocations are currently under price negotiations between the importers and the relevant Indian authorities through the support of my Ministry and the Gambia High Commission in India. The plan is to have the first consignment in Banjul during the first week of Ramadan. Two of the suppliers have successfully negotiated the price at $490 as the lowest price.”
He noted further that the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment has also requested an additional 150,000 MTs of rice as a new allocation for 2024. The Ministry has also requested from Indian Government to include sugar and oil as part of the support package for waiver in 2024. “It is envisaged that these consignments will increase the supply of these commodities and therefore exert a downward pressure on the prices in the domestic market,” he observed.
The Minister added that his Ministry also continues to work collaboratively with the Gambia Ports Authority to provide priority berthing of vessels carrying essential commodities to avoid demurrage charges that may add to prices in the markets.
“In addition, where critically necessary, MOTIE engaged the Central Bank to provide support to access forex to suppliers of essential commodities. So, all these measures have helped not only to ease pressure on prices but ensure availability of essential commodities,” he added.
The Minister once again reiterated the government’s commitment to continue ensuring that essential food commodities are available and accessible to the general population, while his Ministry will continue to monitor the stocks and prices and adopt appropriate policy measures to achieve that objective, especially in this Holy month of Ramadan.
