The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) has revealed that prices of some imported goods could be reduced in the coming weeks following new guidelines issued by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) on foreign exchange rates for all players in the shipping industry, effective July 22, 2025.

The Vice President of the GIFF, Nana Asiamah Peprah I, disclosed this on JOYNEWS’ Businesslive Programme on July 22, 2025.

He explained that most of the shipping lines are quoting rates “way above” the BoG’s rates as well as the commercial banks rates. This, he said has made the cost of some imported items a little expensive.

“Some of these shipping lines who were quoting very high rates are now being compelled to work with the Bank of Ghana rates, that will definitely impact on cost of imports and prices on the market”, he said.  

Nana Peprah I is hopeful the development will deal with concerns about high prices of imported goods despite recent gains made by the cedi.

“This is one of the reasons why some of these traders have not been responding to current developments on the market when it comes to the cedi’s appreciation”, he said.

Background

The BoG has announced a new set of guidelines on the application of exchange rates by players in the shipping industry, effective July 22, 2025.

The central bank held an extensive consultation with stakeholders in the shipping industry to reach an effective guideline aimed at ensuring transparency, consistency, and alignment with regulatory frameworks in foreign exchange pricing for services offered at the ports.

According to a notice issued by the BoG, all industry players must publish daily exchange rates used for invoicing on their websites and/or at their premises.

According to the BoG, the rates must be available to customers and communicated clearly to them prior to the issuance of invoices or payment.

GIFF on new guidelines

Speaking on the Businesslive programme on JOYNEWS, the Vice President also praised the BoG over the speed at which it moved to address the concerns.

“We just had this meeting recently on arbitrary rates used by the shipping lines at the ports and the next thing we saw is a notice on the guidelines”, he said.

He added that “this can be described as a timely and good for the industry”.
Nana Peprah I said the guidelines will also help bring some sanity into the import and clearance of goods at the country’s ports.

“The next thing that we will be pushing for is the rates being fixed for at least a month to aid planning for most importers and businesses”.

He suggested that the proposal if adopted will go a long way to reduce the cost of doing business, as businesses pass on the expected benefits to consumers.