Consumers will pay more for packaged water effective 1 April, following the rise in the cost of production, the National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers (NASPAWAP) have announced.
A bag of sachet water that contains 30 pieces of 500ml packaged water will now sell at a maximum price of GH₵6.00 from the retail trucks from the previous GH₵4.50.
Mini shops will now retail a bag of sachet at a maximum price of GH₵8.00 per bag from the previous GH₵6.
Additionally, the 500ml bottled water will be retailed at GH₵ 2.00 from the previous GH₵1.50, while the 750ml or medium-sized will be retailed at GH₵ 2.50 from the previous GH₵2.
The 1.5L bottled water and pieces of sachet water are expected to be sold at GH₵3.50 and 40 pesewas, respectively.
In a statement which was released on Tuesday, 29 March 2022, NASPAWAP said the price reviews have been necessitated “by the rising cost of inputs, such as fuel and packaging materials which are mainly imported and produced from petroleum sources”.
NASPAWAP said the new prices were concluded in consultation with its National Executive Committee (NEC) and other stakeholders to ensure uniformity across the country.
The NEC also cautions that there might be slight variations in prices across the regions due to haulage to remote and distant areas.
NASPAWAP further explained that at the previous review of prices in December last year, the cedi exchange rate to the US dollar was about GH₵6.50.
However, currently, it is inching up to GH₵ 8.50.
“Fuel which forms a major cost of distributing the products to the market centres has significantly gone up since our last review. It was GH₵ 6.50 per litre, and now it is above GH₵ 11 per litre, which is averaging 69.2% change since 1 January 2022 when the old prices were implemented,” NASPAWAP said.
They pleaded with the government and its agencies to take a second look at many fees and taxes on the packaged water industry to help reduce the financial burden to save the industry and protect jobs for the youths along the value chain from production to consumption.
“Also, considering the significant impact of the packaged water industry to the eradication of water-borne diseases and the achievement of the SDG goals on water”.