Based on a report from Graphic Online, Ga Kenkey sellers in Ghana are contemplating incorporating the cost of pepper into their pricing due to the worsening economic conditions in the country.
To verify this information, journalists from the media outlet visited various Ga Kenkey spots in Accra, including Adabraka, Osu, Tudu, and Jamestown, where sellers confirmed their plans. Many mentioned purchasing a bag of pepper for GH¢800, prompting them to consider including the expenses of pepper, onions, and tomatoes in their production costs.
Consequently, the previously complimentary ground pepper, onions, and tomatoes that accompanied the kenkey will now be charged for.
Hajia, a seller at Kenkey Boutique Company Ltd. in Adabraka, expressed her concerns about the rising ingredient costs, stating that she struggled to meet customers’ demands for more pepper due to the limited quantity she could afford to serve. She noted that some customers specifically requested kenkey with extra ground pepper but without fish, a request she found challenging to fulfil.
“Some people may only have GH¢10 and would want maybe two balls with just pepper, and there are those who may only have GH¢5 but we use the fish to sell the kenkey.
They opt for only kenkey because fish is expensive.
The least is GH¢10 and very soon the pepper will also not be free,” she explained.
Hajia explained that in 2017, she had many customers but since the price of kenkey increased from GH¢2 to GH¢3 and now GH¢5, it had affected sales, “now we don’t get customers like before. Can’t you see here has been very quiet?” she asked.
Some individuals held the belief that the production expenses for corn meal were excessively high and challenging, which is why kenkey has been priced between GH¢4 and GH¢5 since 2017.
A seller at Tudu, Naa Dodua, said “from the mill to the one who will stir, the one who will mould, the one who will cook and the one who will remove from fire, all takes money depending on the volume of work, it is why the price has moved from GH¢2.
The maize meal is very difficult to prepare and if the seller bought the maize on credit it means she is going to reduce the size of the balls making them small”.
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