Dubai: For the first time in the history of the Ministry of Economy's price survey, this week's list showed two of Dubai's major supermarkets selling nearly all their products at identical prices.
Click here to see the prices of selected commodities (pdf)
LuLu, the flagship brand of UAE-based Emke Group and Carrefour, a French retail giant, were apparently locked in a tight race. Although no price ceilings were called for, both stores offered the same price for 20 out of the 23 items included in the weekly survey.
Items like carrots from Australia, okra from Oman, Tilda rice from India, flour (No. 1) from the UAE and mutton meat from Australia were priced evenly at LuLu Centre and Carrefour. However, the majority of the products included in the list were non-perishable commodities. No prices were available for other perishable goods.
For shoppers on a bargain trail, LuLu and Carrefour are this week's top picks. Carrefour, the cost saver for three consecutive weeks, had 19 items with the cheapest price, while LuLu had 18 and Union Cooperative Society had six.
In Abu Dhabi, Emirates General Market emerged as the price buster, selling 18 items with the lowest price. Carrefour was second with 13 cheapest products, while Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society was stuck in the bottom third, offering four lowest-priced commodities.
The Ministry of Economy collated the prices last Monday and covered 42 commodities.
