The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has announced that commuters can expect another increase in fares.
This follows another substantial increase in fuel prices by some Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) which went up by as much as 30% at the pumps yesterday.
The head of the union's communications department, Abass Imoro, said, "If nothing is done about this either, then of course we will have to adjust lorry fares next week.
"We discussed with the public during the last price adjustment that we will definitely make another price adjustment for trucks if the 10% limit continues to rise," he said in an interview with PM Express on Wednesday.
Transportation prices expected to rise again after fuel price hike
The government had agreed with commercial transportation companies that they could raise fares if fuel prices increased by a total of 10%.
Following the current increases in fuel prices, Abass Imoro says executives are considering further upward adjustments to existing fares.
The transport companies increased fares by 15 percent on Saturday, Feb. 26, after weeks of negotiations with the various unions and the government.
They had previously called for a 30 percent increase, but that was reduced to 15 percent after a meeting with the government on Monday, Feb. 21.
Meanwhile, Deputy Energy Minister Andrew Agyapa Mercer said the government has initiated plans to address the challenges affecting the fuel price increases.
Fuel prices
Fuel prices at various pumps nationwide increased to ¢11 per litre on Wednesday, March 16.
Bulk Oil Distributors attributed the situation to market volatility and rising crude oil prices in the international market.
According to Managing Director Senyo Hosi, the cedi, which is losing value against other major trading currencies, is also a factor in the rise in commodity prices.
"It's not really about crude oil, it's about products on a per ton basis. They are breaking the pair and probably breaking 11, depending on what product and how the OMCs want to mark up their margins on their current prices.
"What you see in the OMCs' releases reflects the market situation and I think a lot of it has to do with the rise in prices related to the cedi," he said.
The Institute for Energy Security (IES) believes the situation has contributed to the inflationary pressures that the country's businesses are suffering.
If the government does not intervene, the price of gasoline and diesel will soon rise to at least ¢10.00 per litre, the IES said.
Citing examples such as Egypt, Kenya, Togo, and South Africa, the IES said that these countries have found ways to control the main drivers of domestic fuel prices through government subsidies on fuel so that citizens and businesses are not affected as much.
Fuel prices have increased 27% since Jan. 1, 2022
A monitoring report by IES Research Analysts shows that fuel prices at the pumps have already increased by a net 1.8 ¢ per litre (27%t) for both gasoline and diesel since the beginning of the year and for five consecutive price windows.
Relative to March 2021, the report also shows that the price of gasoline and diesel has increased by about ¢3.33 per litre, a 65% increase.
While the price of gasoline per litre in Ghana increased by about 65% between March 2021 and March 2022, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt recorded price jumps of about 14%, 34%, and 26%, respectively, during the same period.
According to IES, the price differences between the listed countries are due to the respective governments' interventions in relation to rising international oil prices and the extent to which local currencies are managed against the U.S. dollar.
Since the beginning of the year, gasoline and diesel prices have increased by more than ¢3 per litre.