Since the National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers (NASPAWAP) announced an increase in the price of sachet and bottled water from Monday, September 19, 2022, many households have begun estimating the increased expense paid by drinking commercial water.

Therefore, 750ml bottles of water or medium-sized bottles will be sold for GHC3, while 500ml bottles will be sold for GHC2.

A bag of sachet water (500ml by 30) will now sell for GH7 from the retail trucks, and sachet water will also be offered at GH0.50p.

Mini-shops will also sell a bag of sachets at GH¢9 per bag. However, there might be slight variations across regions due to haulage to remote and distant areas.

The Mensah family who stay at Kanda, a suburb of Accra, say they will now have to spend GH¢135 instead of the GH¢105 they usually spend on the 15 bags of sachet water purchased every month.

“We buy four bags of sachet water every week, and at times 15 bags a month. We are a family of six, and from beginning of the year till now the prices keeps changing; even before the announcement we bought one bag last week for GH¢7,” the family told B&FT.

Also, the Bafour family (a family of five) at Adjiringanor who use about 10 bags of sachet water monthly said they are bracing up to now spend GH¢90 instead of the initial GH¢40 they spent in January on bags of sachet water.

“In January we spent GH¢40 on just sachet water. The prices here differ depending on the brand. But the one we bought early this month was sold at GH¢6 per bag and others at GH¢7 and GH¢8. Given the announced increment coupled with the utility tariffs, we are all just hoping that things bounce back quickly,” a member of the Bafour family said.

At Frafraha, Gloria’s family will now pay GH¢90 for 10 bags when in February this year it cost them GH¢50.

Some individuals who also shared their grievances told the B&FT that they used to spend between GH¢4 to GH¢6 on bottled water in the office before going home. But with the said reviewed prices, they will from September, 19 spend at most GH¢12 in a day – which will be GH¢60 a week.

“On a sunny day, I buy at most four bottles of water before I leave the office. So, if it will be GH¢3 now then I might spend GH¢12 a day and GH¢60 a week. What I will do now is to buy the whole pack and be picking from it,” John Paul at Osu noted.

According to producers, the price reviews have been necessitated by the rising cost of inputs such as fuel and packaging materials which are mainly imported – as well as electricity and water tariff increments which took effect September 1, 2022.

According to the 2021 Ghana Population and Housing Census report on Water and Sanitation, sachet water is the primary source of drinking water for 51.5 percent of households in urban areas.

Overall, 37.1 percent of households use pipe-borne water as their primary source of drinking water, followed by 31.7 percent of households that use borehole/tube, and 17.7 percent of households that use sachet water.

Households have expressed concerns about the safety of pipe-borne water, despite the fact that it is the second-most popular source of drinking water. They claim that occasionally it tastes a bit salty or is colored when it should be colorless.