AMMAN — The
global drop in prices of certain goods did not reflect on local markets,
according to the
Consumer Protection Association, which conducted a study that
showed, to the contrary, a rise in the prices of 84 out of 130 commodities.
اضافة اعلان
Mohammad
Obeidat, head of the association, told
Jordan News “the reason commodity
prices have not decreased, despite their decline globally, is the merchants’
claim that they had acquired them at high prices” in the first place.
“The
Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Supply should protect the consumer by providing sufficient
quantities and good-quality commodities at moderate prices, in view of the
difficult economic conditions experienced by most citizens. Prices should be
fair to both trader and consumer,” he said.
The head of the
Jordanian Union of Restaurants and Confectionery Proprietors,
Omar Al-Awwad,
said that once the price of a commodity increases, it is unlikely that it will
decrease again.
He told
Jordan
News that “the highest increase was of soy oil. It rose from JD20 per
gallon (4 liters) to JD32, after which it was lowered to JD30. Although it
marginally decreased, it remained at its higher price point.”
“We must have
some form of market prices regulation. In the world, when prices of goods rise,
the government intervenes and sets a price cap,” he added.
Head of Jordan
Chamber of Commerce, Nael Kabariti, told
Jordan News that the “price
fluctuations that occur globally are not necessarily reflected locally,
especially when it comes to a drop in prices. We live in an open economy and
the ministry can rarely interfere and set price caps.”
Laith Al–Hajj,
who heads a dairy cooperative, seems to blame intermediaries for the plight of
the farmers who, he stressed, “did not benefit at all from the increase in the
prices of milk and cheese”.
He told
Jordan
News that “farmers are suffering both because of the prices and the
availability of feed,” of which Jordan only produces 10 percent, importing the
rest.
The increase in
prices clearly failed to reflect on the farmers, then.
“I assure you
our farmers are still incurring considerable losses which affect particularly
small farms,” he stressed.
Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Supply spokesman
Yanal Barmawi told
Jordan News that
“we are currently working in partnership with the executive body, and the
industrial and commercial sectors, to lower the price of basic commodities in
light of the drop in their prices globally.”
“The ministry is
keen on protecting the interests of all parties, to serve the consumer with
high quality goods, strategic stock, and price balance,” he added.
Barmawi said
that “the ministry, by virtue of the laws governing industry and trade, will
not hesitate to take any measures, including the possibility of setting price
caps to any commodity that is found to be unjustifiably high. Such decisions
were already taken this year”.
“We also hope
that there will be greater cooperation on the part of citizens who can
notifying us about any complaint related to the markets by contacting the
ministry by phone or social media platforms,” he said.
At the same
time, he recommended responsibility, stressing that “it is very important to
remember that circulating misinformation or false information regarding a hike
in prices may affect the local market and harm the consumer”.
According to
Barmawi, during the first eight months of this year, about 5,000 food
violations were registered in all governorates of the Kingdom; they were mostly
non-compliance with the provisions of the law.
“Moreover, the ministry
is currently receiving a large number of complaints from citizens related to
violations in the markets, and appropriate measures are being taken
immediately.”
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