According to the National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers (NASPAWAP), the new price of packaged water is informed by the increasing cost of raw materials and fuel and the cedi’s depreciation.

Barring any hitches, a water sachet will be selling at ¢0.40, while the 500ml bottled water will be retailed at ¢2. From Friday, iced bottled water of 750ml or medium size will be sold at ¢2.50.

A bag of sachet water, 500ml by 30pcs, will be sold at ¢6 maximum from the retail trucks.

Mini shops, however, will retail the commodity at ¢8 per bag maximum. The 1.5L or large bottled water will be sold at ¢3.50.

President of the Asociation, Magnus Nunoo, has explained that most of the inputs and packaging materials which are mainly imported and produced from petroleum sources have seen price hikes.

“At our previous review, the dollar’s exchange rate was in the region of ¢6.50. Currently, it is inching up to ¢8.50. Fuel which forms a major cost of distributing the products to the market centres, has significantly gone up since our last review,” he noted.

He, however, cautioned that there might be slight variations in prices across the regions due to haulage to remote and distant areas.

The president further appealed to government to review the tax policies on packaged water industry to help reduce the financial burden to save the industry.