By: Thaimu Bai Sesay
At the signing of five industries in a press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communication, the Minister of Trade and Industry clarified tangible reasons for the souring prices of commodities in Sierra Leone.
The Minister of Trade and Industry Edward Hinga Sandy described the skyscraping inflation in the county as an economic pandemic which he said resulted from a number of destructions in manufacturing and as well as in the global exchange rate. He Pointed out that the Russia-Ukraine War had limited the country’s ability from sourcing a number of essential commodities, especially those sourced from Russia and Ukraine.
“We understand how the Covid Pandemic disrupted businesses. We had a number of challenges of not allowing ships to bring goods. And because of this, the long queues restricted the number of vessels that should be available to the port. And then the Ukraine War, our flour, fertilizer, even petroleum products come from that region, either Ukraine or Russia,” the minister elucidated. He furthered that 60 percent of all diesel African countries consume came from Russia. He therefore affirmed that the effect was not just in Sierra Leone but a global crisis.
The Minister continued by practically identifying other countries, including United States, who he said were also affected by the Russia-Ukraine War. He explained that when the United States realized that its own economy was also eating up; he said the banks were in crisis and the treasury decided to increase the interest rate. ‘Although a good number of people will not understand that, the impact of the increase in interest rate in the United States allowed a number of global currencies to depreciate against the US dollar. And when that happens, you will see also the smaller economics get affected,’ he noted. He went on stating other African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria which he said were also experiencing the same situation and that Sierra Leone would not be an exception.
Hinga justified that Guinea, the French neighboring country, was unique in several ways. He revealed that Guinea was enjoying a boom in Iron Ore production. He said that the largest Iron Ore mines had been discovered in Guinea and said, that had attracted huge investment. ‘The investment in research alone is very close to 300 million dollars, and when all that huge amount of money flows into a country you should understand how it would impact the country’s economy, he added.
The trade minister said that when you compare Sierra Leone and Liberia you would get to know that Sierra Leone was doing much better than Liberia. He made a comparison of the prices of major commodities like rice and cement between Sierra Leone and Liberia. He intimated that the wholesale prices of cement in Sierra Leone ranged from 95 Leones for the locally produced and 120 Leones for the imported. He calculated that those prices were around 5 to 6 United States dollars but said in Liberia and even in Guinea the prices of cement were way ahead by 6 dollars. He also said that when you compare the prices of rice between Sierra Leone and those countries you would realize that the price in Sierra Leone was better.