UAE plans steps to tame prices of essential items

Basic commodities will be lowered by around 40%
Abu Dhabi, Mar 2,2011 (GN): Amid concerns over rising global commodity prices, the UAE Ministry of Economy will step in to lower the prices of essential foodstuffs for a month with prices being reduced by up to 40 per cent, a ministry official said Tuesday.
Hashem Al Nuaimi, Head of the Consumer Protection Unit at the Ministry of Economy, told reporters the prices of essential foodstuffs including rice, flour, sugar and oil will be lowered across hypermarkets and cooperative stores by 20 per cent to 40 per cent.

"At some cooperative societies, it could be even 50 per cent," he added.

The announcement was made on the sixth GCC Consumer Protection Day.

The lower prices will apply to around 200 basic commodities, said Al Nuaimi.

A surge in the prices of food and other products is giving rise to fears that this year will be a re-run of 2008 - presenting difficult dilemmas for central banks. Rising prices of commodities are once again haunting the world economy with soaring food and energy prices posing severe economic, political and social risks in developing countries.

"We are aware of this regulation and are ready to comply with the directives of the Consumer Protection Unit," said Nanda Kumar, a spokesmen for Emke Group, which runs the largest chain of hypermarkets across the GCC.

"We are trying to finalise products that we will be selling below the market price," he added.

World food prices hit their highest level on record in January, the United Nations said.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) Food Price Index rose for the seventh month to 231, topping the peak of 224.1 in June 2008. It is the highest level the index has reached since records began in 1990.

Rising food prices have been cited among the driving forces behind the recent revolts in North Africa.