Kebba Jallow, The Trade Chairperson Of The Committee.
By Ramatoulie Jawo
The National Assembly’s Committee on Trade and Regional Integration has suggested that the government should promote participation among Gambians in the trade of essential goods.
This proposal was part of a report based on the committee’s market visits across the nation, which was presented to the legislative body on Thursday, March 7, 2024.
The tour aimed to investigate the current market prices for basic food items, compare prices across different regions and understand the factors driving the increase in prices of these essential goods.
The committee believes that supporting Gambians to engage in and access funding for the essential commodities market, could lessen foreign dominance in this area.
Furthermore, they advised the government to establish storage facilities in markets for perishable goods, which would motivate wholesalers to expand their operations into various regions.
“In order to reduce the nature of the oligopolistic situation of essential commodity trading, the Government should encourage or facilitate the participation of more players to encourage competition and price stability, government ventures or through PPPs in the production of some of the essential commodities like rice, onions, potatoes to reduce imports of these commodities.,” the committee recommended.
The committee’s engagements with various stakeholders uncovered significant challenges impeding competition and price stability in the market.
It’s crucial to recognize the urgency of addressing these challenges to ensure the availability and affordability of essential commodities, which greatly impact citizens’ well-being.
From their tour, the Committee observed several issues, including inadequate storage facilities for perishable goods in markets nationwide, the dominance of non-Gambian players in the sector, inconsistent pricing of the same commodities across regions (such as American Rice differing in price across markets in the CRR), and the concentration of wholesalers mainly in the Greater Banjul Area.