Accra Bourse Index records modest gain
Juaso (Ashanti Region) 31 May 2001
Coffee farmers at Juaso in the Asante Akyem South District have expressed concern about the government's failure to ensure the purchase of coffee produced last year.
A spokesman for the farmers, Mr Stephen Kwaku Adu told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that since what they harvested last year has not been bought, they find it frustrating to harvest this year's crop.
" In the past, the government encouraged farmers to go into coffee farming by offering us high yielding seedlings. Coffee farmers in the district bought the idea, spent a lot of money to expand their farms to increase the yield."
Mr Adu said the government appears to be only interested in the production of cocoa and not coffee, which incidentally, attracts a higher price on the international market.
"For example in this year's budget statement, the government decided to undertake mass spraying of cocoa farms against the black pod and other diseases and increased the producer price of the crop but nothing was said about coffee," he said.
Mr Adu said in 1992, COCOBOD purchased un-husked coffee at 35,000 cedis per bag of 60 kilos and later raised it to 40,000 cedis.
When the purchasing was privatised, CASHPRO, a private buying company paid 55,000 cedis for the same quantity and later increased it to 70,000 cedis but two years ago the price fell to 60,000 cedis.
"Another private company, which initiated a move to purchase our produce decided to do so without using weighing scales, which many of us disagreed."
He said the company told them the price had fallen two years ago on international market but this time round, nobody has told them anything.
Mr Adu said coffee farmers have entered into another harvesting season and there seemed to be no hope to market their produce.
"Some of us are contemplating whether we should cut down our trees to enable us to produce plantain and cocoyam instead".
Mr Adu, therefore, appealed to the government to institute a mechanism to purchase and offer a producer price for the crop just as it does for cocoa.
The also asked the government to assist them to acquire machines to husk their coffee. Under the present arrangement it is those who buy the coffee that send it to Abuakwa in Ashanti for husking.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
The GSE-All Share index rallied during mid-week trading on Wednesday, thanks to gains by advancing Aluworks (ALW), Mechanical Lloyd Company (MLC) and Metaloplastica Ghana Limited (MGL).
The index, which marked-time for two successive sessions, inched up by 0.34 points to close up at 894.53 points. However, bearish sentiments still dominated activities on the market.
Traded volumes were about twice lower as the nine equities, which sold shares, could only manage mere 9,300 shares compared to 18,100 at the previous close.
The change for the year to date also made modest gains at 4.26 per cent.
There were three price changes - all positive. ALW was up 10 cedis to close 7,010; MLC gained 10 cedis at 130 cedis and MGL made five cedis at 235 cedis.
Market capitalisation was up marginally at 3,713.37 billion cedis. It had marked time at 3,712.75 billion cedis on two previous trading sessions.
The following are the last prices of listed equities in cedis:
ABL 630
AGC 18,500
ALW 7,010 +10
BAT 550
CFAO 60
EIC 2,890
FML 800
GBL 1,300
GCB 1,600
GGL 900
HFC 952
MGL 235 +5
MLC 130 +10
MOGL 19,000
PAF 300
PBC 450
PZ 640
SCB 21,000
SPPC 298
SSB 2,300
UNIL 1,800
CMLT 425
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
Currency Buying Selling
US Dollar 7,045.00 7,256.45
Pound Sterling 10,013.76 10,315.04
French Franc 918.96 945.86
Swiss Franc 3,952.39 4,068.09
Deutsche Mark 3,081.25 3,172.98
Canadian Dollar 4,582.54 4,716.31
Japanese Yen 58.65 60.37
Dutch Guilder 2,735.40 2,815.47
S/African Rand 886.42 911.75
Euro 6,029.12 6,204.54
CFA Franc 9.19 9.46
Naira 64.80 66.74
Ecowas/WAUA 8,959.97 ========
GRi../
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