The Concerned Freight Forwarders and Traders Association of Ghana has added its voice to calls on shipping lines to suspend the scheduled increase in shipping rates from March 1, 2021.

Last week some stakeholders at the Tema Port raised concerns over an impending increase in Shipping Line and handling charges; insisting the charges are not justified.

In an interview with Citi Business News, the Chairman of the Concerned Freight Forwarders and Traders Association of Ghana, Oheneba Kwasi Afawuah, called for a meeting with stakeholders including, the Shipping Lines and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to discuss a possible postponement of the implementation date for the increase in charges.

“They have given an ultimatum of March 1, 2021, to begin implementing the new rates, and they claim they have approval from the Ghana Shippers Authority along with all other stakeholders. But we do not agree. We want to go back to the drawing board to see if they can extend their time to maybe June, July or September. We need to see how the business environment plays out.”

Mr. Afawuah further cautioned that if the meeting does not lead to an agreement on a postponement and reduction in the increment in the charges, the cost of goods imported and sold on the Ghanaian market will rise.

“Cost of doing business for importers is going to go up which will ultimately lead to us the final consumers suffering.”