Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said it is about time Ghanaians change their taste for foreign goods.

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According to him, the change in expenditure pattern will ease the pressure on the cedi as goods would be patronized from local manufacturers.

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He called on Ghanaians to invest in local businesses to enhance their production capacity for exports.

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Appearing before the ad hoc committee in parliament on Friday, November 18, 2022, Ken Ofori-Atta said, "It is time to have honest conversations on the patterns of expenditure as a people, our preference for imported goods which require foreign exchange that we do not earn enough of implies our cedi will continue to be under pressure."

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"It has become clear that we cannot continue in a business usual mode, we have to significantly change our consumption patterns and support investments in local capacity for production and export," he added.

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The cedi has in recent times depreciated against major trading currencies.

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It depreciated further in October 2022 by 9.6%.

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In a Bloomberg report, it makes the total loss of the cedi in 2022 almost 52%, the highest recorded in 22 years.

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The free fall of the cedi now places the currency at the 148 position of worst performing currencies in the world.

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Meanwhile, on the interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana, the cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 13.0991 and a selling price of 13.1123.

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Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.4216 and a selling price of 15.4462

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Source: Ghanaweb

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