The high prices of Nestle products, especially ideal milk, emanate from supply bottlenecks as a result of the annual plant shut down for maintenance and lack of an essential ingredient in the production of milk at beginning of February that led to low stock levels.

The Managing Director of Nestle, Ghana Limited Andre Porchet, who was speaking to the Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku on Tuesday, explained that the situation was only temporary as efforts were already underway to get workers on a 24-hour shift to build up the necessary stock levels to flood the market and stabilise the situation.

In addition, distributors had been informed and educated on the situation. Porchet said although Nestle had imposed an annual increase of three per cent on prices of its products, this could not be cited as the reason for the unusually high margins, especially on milk in the market.

Dr Apraku appealed to commodity distributors not to unduly hike the prices of goods in the market to create panic among consumers. He said the pursuit of short-term individual selfish interest by the traders was not in the best interest of the country.

Cost of consumer goods and foodstuffs have risen sharply in recent weeks, following government's announcement of increase in petroleum prices. Dr Apraku, however, said hike in fuel prices alone could not be the reason for the significant differentials between the factory and wholesale prices of goods and urged distributors to help bring down the prices of their wares.

He said there was the need for the distributors to make the country's economic growth, peacefully stable as their overriding concern to provide government conducive atmosphere to discharge its responsibilities.

The meeting arranged at the instance of the Minister was to find out from the Managing Director the causes of the recent price increases in products of Nestle, especially, Milk.

Dr Apraku said since the country was pursuing a liberal market economy government could not dictate prices but it could only use moral suasion to persuade manufacturers and traders to bring down the prices of goods.