Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto says his outfit through its price formation analysis has found no justification for the high retail prices of food across various cities in the country.

Some Ghanaians say market women have capitalized on the high price of fuel and are selling goods to customers at abnormal prices to make undue profits.

The country’s inflation rate is currently beyond 40 percent with the price of food as a major driver.

Answering questions in Parliament on Wednesday, the Minister said this development of profiteering by market women must be investigated.

“There are speculations that it could be due to some traders making supernormal profits. It is something that has to be investigated but in terms of price formation analysis, there is nothing to justify the doubling or tripling of the retail price of food in the major cities.”

Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto also insisted that the cost of transportation is not the cause of the current food price hikes.

“Some are saying it is the market women who are making supernormal profits, some are saying it is traders. But I definitely know that with this analysis it is not transportation because transportation is included in the calculations that my Regional Directors of Agriculture have given me,” he said.

The Minister also retierated his outfit’s plans to bring food from the local areas to Accra in order to compete with the high cost of food on the market.