Business owners in the Greater Banjul Area have expressed worry as the Dalasi continues to lose ground against the CFA franc.

According to them, the depreciation has been piling pressure on them and is likely to spike prices if the Central Bank doesn’t intervene to rescue the situation.

In an interview with the President of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Muhammad M.Jagana said, “the situation can only be rescued through strengthening of local production, manufacturing, expansion of local indigenous participation in critical sectors of the economy and expanding our value addition in agricultural produce to reduce our import dependence."

He added that the GCCI would recommend government to work with indigenous Gambians to develop our agricultural sector and food industry.

“We need to focus more on promoting MiG (Made in Gambia). We have a lot of Gambian women and youths that are involved in food production and agriculture.”

When asked if the government should limit import from Senegal, the GCCI boss argued,“we have a lot of Gambian women and youths that are involved in food production and agriculture, I would rather support and promote those than recommending “the import limit from Senegal”.

 “Remember Gambia benefits a lot from doing business with Senegal and beyond and we need the access through Senegal to reach the rest of ECOWAS.”

However, he said the depreciation of the Dalasi against the CFA franc might not seriously affect prices because Gambian businesses have been very creative in coping with economic challenges.