MoCI initiatives help stabilise food prices

Doha: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) represented by the Consumer Protection Department took a number initiatives and measures to curb unjustified price hike especially during the holy month of Ramadan where the demand for food increased significantly, said an official.

“The initiative to discount prices on over 800 products, launched by the Ministry in cooperation with major retail outlets and suppliers, led to price stability in the market,” said Director of Quality Licensing and Market Control Department at MoCI Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Al Bohashem Al Sayed.

Speaking in ‘Ghabqa’ programme on ‘Role of monitoring authority on curbing price hike’ of Qatar TV yesterday, Al Sayed said that another initiative is providing meat on subsidised prices to citizens. 

“The initiative offered 30,000 sheep on subsidised prices. So far 25,500 sheep have been sold out in this scheme.

The initiative aims at meeting the high demand of meat during Ramadan and supporting livestock farms as well,” said Al Sayed.

He said that the contribution from the local farms to the initiative which started about 10 years ago with 3,000 sheep has grown up to 21,500 sheep from the domestic farms this year.

“The main strategy of the Ministry is to ensure the flow of goods in the country at reasonable prices,” said Al Sayed.

The official said that the Ministry took adequate measures for increasing strategic reserve by signing contracts with major market players.

“The Ministry is strictly monitoring the prices at all outlets operating in the country. The retail outlets are under the strict monitoring of basic commodity prices as they required prior-approval from the Ministry for any increase,” said Al Sayed. 

He said that the requests for price hike by the outlets undergo certain rules and regulation. “The Ministry approves the request if it is really needed to do so after revising the financial condition of the supplier.” 

“Being a member of World Trade Organisation (WTO), trade policy of Qatar is based on free trade regulated by supply and demand,” said Al Sayed.

He added that the global supply chain faced a number of challenges during past years such as economic crises, COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical situation.

“These issues affected the supply chain which increased the cost of shipments and  storage among others resulting in price hike,” said Al Sayed.

He said that the Ministry is monitoring the prices from different angles such as curbing any price hike in basic consumer goods – food items, vegetables, fruits, fish and meat.

“The Ministry is supervising the central markets to ensure the flow of commodities such as fruits, vegetables and seafood at different retail outlets across the country,” said Al Sayed.
Economic analyst Abdullah Al Khater said COVID-19 pandemic affected the global transportation, which caused inflation in most of the world’s major economies.

He said the industries that were closed because of the pandemic are now gradually increasing production to meet the demand. Al Khater said Russia-Ukraine war is another reason for surge in the prices of food and oil worldwide.

Speaking about the inflation in Qatar, he said: “There are not big factors of inflations in the country, especially during the past period. Real estate market and rents are stable. The mega projects are about to finish. Therefore, there is no big demand in the economy to cause high inflation.”

Prominent businessman and economic analyst Ali Hassan Al Khalaf said the price hike mostly comes from abroad.

“We in Qatar import most of our goods including foods and non-food items,” said Al Khalaf. He said the country witnessed some price hike and that’s why the State has taken steps to help improve financial condition of retirees and some other sections of the community.

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