According to her, the current exchange rate weighed heavily on producers who rely heavily on imported materials in the production and packaging of sachets and bottled water in the country.
Chairman of NASPAWAP, Mr. Magnus Nunoo in a statement copied to Ghanaian time said that if the government did not rise to the challenge, producers would have no choice but to pass on the skyrocketing cost of production to the public.
“If the government does not answer the call within a week from today, we will have no choice but to pass the cost on to the public and the eventual shutdown of production and distribution for a week across the country,” he warned.
The statement noted that from plastic pallets used in the manufacture of polyethylene films to PET bottles for packaging, fuel for water distribution to market centers and consumers to electricity costs, among others administrative costs, water producers were the losers.
“Clearly, the last price announced in September is not even enough to break even the packaged water industry. As a result, the industry is accumulating debt in its operations at levels that are more viable,” he noted.
NASPAWAP recommended the government to take urgent action to reduce taxes on packaging materials for industry, review the import and customs duty formula for imported raw materials for water industry and freeze the payment of VAT, excise tax and other taxes on the packaged water industry.
He further called for government charges and fees for the packaged water industry to be frozen and, if possible, for utilities as well as taxes on reusable jar bottles used for dispensers to be completely removed.
“We call on the Bank of Ghana to exercise caution in adjusting the policy rate which increases banks’ cost of borrowing for businesses,” the statement said.
NASPAWAP has urged the public, civil society organizations and other key stakeholders to support the packaged water industry’s calls to keep it afloat.
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