The
permanent secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration
and Employment has assured the populace that there is no cause for panic or
alarm on shortage of the basic commodities in the market amid the global spread
of corona virus.
Lamin
Dampha in an exclusive with The Point, assured that there is enough stocks
available in the country.
He
disclosed that his ministry is aware of the panic among Gambians at the moment
with regards to scarcity of food in the wake of the COVID-19.This, he observed,
is forcing many people buy more food items.
“We
want to assure to the general public that this is not the case. We have enough
stocks of basic commodities such as rice, oil, onions, potatoes, flour and to
name a few,” he mentioned.
The
Ministry, he went on, has conducted a consultative meeting with major importers
as well as a market research. These initiatives, he added, have revealed that
the stocks of essential food commodities are adequate for the coming months.
“Our
fear is how long will the crisis last because that is a global concern and if
it takes so long we can start thinking about that. But for now we didn’t have
any problem as far as food stocks is concern,” he said.
PS
Dampha said the Ministry would continue to monitor and engage the business
community on the supply of the basic commodities and their prices in the
market.
Additionally,
information reaching this medium has indicated that the prices of most of the
brands of rice have also remained stable, except the horse brand that has
increase from D1400 to D1600 per bag due to a surge in demand for this
particular brand.
