Prices of onions may go up in Ghana if the political tensions in Niger continue, some onion sellers in Accra have said. 

The leader of onion sellers in Accra, Sani Abubakar in a radio interview with Accra-based 3FM on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, said if government does not intervene in the situation, the prices will further go up.

Niger is one of Ghana’s major suppliers of onion.

Sani Abubakar in the radio interview said more than 70 trucks loaded with onions heading towards Ghana are currently stuck at the borders of Niger, hence affecting the prices of the product in Ghana.

Mr. Abubakar said the Niger crisis has pushed a bag of vegetables to between GH¢1500 and GH¢1600 in Accra and that if nothing was done about the situation, a bag could sell at GH¢3000.

Tensions in Niger and neighboring countries are fast deteriorating following a military takeover in the country recently.

The region bloc, ECOWAS, gave the military junta in Niger a seven-day ultimatum to reinstate the deposed President or risk the intervention of ECOWAS.

Even before the elapse of the seven-day ultimatum on Monday, August 7, 2023, ECOWAS had imposed some sanctions on Niger, including cutting trade ties with the member states.

The coup leaders have refused to cede power back to the deposed President of the country and have cautioned ECOWAS not to carry out its planned intervention. 

It is these sanctions and the political turmoil in Niger that the leader of the Accra onion sellers is expressing concerns about the free flow of the commodity from Niger to Ghana.

The ECOWAS will convene another Extraordinary Summit on Thursday, August 10 on the political situation in Niger.