UAE | General

Price hikes affect masses across the UAE

Rising food prices are set to continue to be a major concern for residents in the coming year - many have said that despite making cuts to their monthly food budget they could hardly make any savings in 2008.

  • By Fatma Salem, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:46 December 30, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Many residents said that they had found it a struggle making ends meet in 2008 and they did not think 2009 would be any better. This picture is for illustrative purposes only.
  • Image Credit: Gulf News archive

Dubai: Rising food prices are set to continue to be a major concern for residents in the coming year - many have said that despite making cuts to their monthly food budget they could hardly make any savings in 2008.

But what are the main contributors playing a role behind the rise in food prices?

Gulf News got in touch with people from various income groups to get an insight into how food prices have affected their lives. Some said that they have cut down on the number of times they eat out while some have had no choice but to switch to buying cheaper products.

According to them 2009 is going to a challenging year when it comes to fitting in grocery bills asides from job cuts and unchanged salaries not to forget rents and salik.

Mark Angelo Zamora, from the Philippines, 22, a private sector employee said: "Food prices have doubled and some of them have already tripled while my salary, along with a lot of employees, remains the same. Previously I used to assign a little of my salary on snacks and having a group dinner at restaurants at the weekend occasionally. But now I won't be able to afford this. Isn't that unfair? How can I handle such a dilemma and I'm pretty sure 2009 prices will go even higher."

Suffering

Munita M. Raj, 29, an Indian who is a new resident in Dubai says: "Prices have really gone up. I have heard everyone saying the prices are increased on a yearly basis. However, my husband has been in Dubai since 2006, and he told me prices have jumped since then to maybe five or six times higher. But they have never been so high as in 2008. However, we still have our weekend meals in a restaurant, after all it's a habit and we cannot quit it even if we have to pay Dh100," said Munita.

Similar views were expressed by Ayuk Helen, Cameroonian, 24, a private sector employee, who said that the middle class is suffering.

"I don't know how to handle such a tough situation. So I have no choice but to economise the weekly amount that I used to deduct from my salary to buy food or go to restaurants, I also have changed my eating habits by switching to alternative cheaper products that won't blow my budget for the whole month. However, economising or cutting back on expenses are only temporary situations but they cannot beat the phenomenon which might extend to 2009."

Emirati, Zayed A. Almuhairi, 29, a public sector employee was of the opinion that almost everything was expensive and unaffordable in 2008 for the majority of people.

He said: "Prices are all high while salaries remain unchanged. The price of rice has gone up not to mention the rest of basic food staples. I can afford such a cost but how about the poor people who count their limited budget on a daily basis just to ensure it will be enough to cover expenses for the whole month. We should unite our efforts to address a serious call to the controllers of food prices."

Action

Maysoon Ebrahim, an Emirati, agreed and said: "We as consumers need to know what's happening around us, I hate to be left ignorant, because after all I'm a permanent consumer to such products [food] the one who's paying the extra amount, I'm the one who's suffering in one way or another due to such meaningless and unjustified extra costs. I hope it goes back to normal in 2009 to suit all categories of society and keep everyone happy."

Reacting to what residents had to say on the exorbitant rise in food prices, Dr Hashim Saeed Al Nuaimi, Manager of the Consumer Protection Department, said if a consumer comes across any sudden and unjustified rise they should inform the department immediately and action will be taken against whoever is found not committed to the terms and rules of the authorised prices. For example Carrefour and Lulu hypermarket have adhered to the agreed list of prices and so far the feedback of their consumers is satisfactory."

Mahmoud M, Egyptian, a manager at a restaurant in Sharjah said: "Our prices have jumped up by five per cent. For instance, the dish that we used to sell for Dh75 in 2007 has increased to Dh80 in 2008, to match the rest of the market's general prices. We have to keep up with the market's newest prices otherwise we lose."

Restaurant manager Brakash Krishnan said that 2008 had witnessed high prices for all supermarket products such as chicken, beef, and milk "which has played an essential role in increasing our prices in return."

Connected

"Certainly, the market's prices are connected to each other. For instance, rice prices have increased as well. To be more specific, previously in 2007 we got 40kg at Dh140, while currently in 2008 we buy 20 kg for Dh110. Nevertheless, other products for instance, milk has had only a slight change. Beef prices haven't changed so far, while a kg of chicken was Dh7 but now it's increased to Dh8.50."

Have you noticed any changes in food prices recently? Do you expect prices of basic commodities to drop significantly in 2009? Or will they continue to increase? What is your budget plan for the coming year?


Your comments


When prices of foods started rocketing earlier in the year, it was blamed on the increase in oil prices. Now, why has the prices of foods not fallen accordingly?
Roy
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: December 31, 2008, 12:07

Restaurants are increasing food prices on a monthly basis. I urge authorities to take steps to stop this.
Razaq
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: December 31, 2008, 11:21

The inflation is absurd. There has been only talk and no action. Small things such as candy for the children have increased 50% in prices over days.
Abeer
Sharhah,UAE
Posted: December 31, 2008, 10:25

Since I came in 2006,food prices have more than doubled. There is no chance of prices going down at all. Surely prices will increase now with the economic recession. I have not made any budget plan as I am not sure to what extent the prices would increase compared to last year. Monthly budgeting would be much easier and practical.
Naina Nair
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: December 31, 2008, 08:42

For the past Two months, there has been no sign of decrease in these high commodity prices.
Sreejith Babu
Dubai,UAE
Posted: December 31, 2008, 08:31

The price of Zatar bread jumped from Dh1 to Dh1.5 in October 2008 and costs 2Dh now.
Senthil Kathirvel
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: December 31, 2008, 08:30

Many people are forced to leave the UAE because of these prices.
Saadiq
Dubai,UAE
Posted: December 31, 2008, 08:27

I have definitely seen price hikes in many commodities in the previous week ranging from 20 per cent to 60 per cent in some of the supermarkets in Sharjah.
Shouvik Chattopadhyay
Dubai,UAE
Posted: December 31, 2008, 07:12

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