Abu Dhabi President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered making the Meer Al Ramadani (Ramadan food packages) a permanent project to subsidise food products all year long for citizens.
Shaikh Khalifa has ordered the Khalifa Bin Zayed Humanitarian Foundation to begin permanently subsidising foodstuffs starting from Friday.
The order is in line with Shaikh Khalifa's keenness to alleviate the burdens of citizens and meet their needs for foodstuffs with subsidised prices.
An official in the foundation said that Shaikh Khalifa's directives included expanding the number of subsidised foodstuffs, which already includes flour and rice sold at subsidised prices. The official said that the new project will help Emiratis save Dh13,000 annually compared to Dh1,500 that was being saved with the previous project.
The official said that the project will be implemented all across the UAE and will now include dates, cooking oil, juices, water, tomato paste, in addition to rice and flour.
He said that all these allowance will be sold to citizens in Union Cooperative Societies in Dubai, and Municipality centres in Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah.
The official said that the supportive policy adopted by the foundation contributes to ensuring stability for citizens, and said that this is reflected in the increasing demand for subsidised food and rice being sold in specific centres in the UAE.
He added that the foundation has often received phone calls from citizens who expressed their profound gratitude for the keenness of Shaikh Khalifa's to meet the aspirations of UAE citizens and fulfilling their needs and requirements.
The official said that the project directly helps in increasing the standards of living for beneficiaries by preserving the true value of their income through subsidising food products regardless of global prices, and ensuring a stable supply of these products at a lower price for citizens with limited income.
He said that the foundation had previously supplied massive quantities of subsidised rice for Emiratis, estimated to be 325,000 sacks. Each 40kg sack was being sold for Dh120, at a time in which the market price was more than Dh 260. Each family received two 40 kg rice sacks.
