Dubai: Increasing food prices are adding to the UAE consumers woes, who have been suffering from soaring rents as costs of essential products went up the past few weeks, recording the sharpest increases this year.
Click here to see the prices of selected commodities
However, the situation is likely to improve after the Ministry of Economy (MoE) set a ceiling on the maximum prices retailers are allowed to charge for some basic commodities to help stabilise prices.
The ministry also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Union Co-operative Society yesterday to determine prices of 16 basic commodities.
Aim
The initiatives are aimed at stabilising prices, reducing inflation, sustaining market balance and protecting consumers in light of possible price rises of these items on local and international markets. Under the terms of the MoU, within the next few weeks, the co-operative will implement a programme to preserve 2007 prices of various basic food goods throughout 2008, which include oil, rice, flour, eggs, sugar, powdered milk, tea, meat, chicken, fish and bread.
This development comes as the latest consumer price index released by the Ministry revealed some positive improvements in prices of basic goods.
The index showed that one kilogramme of red dry onions imported from India, which previously sold for Dh1.65 last week, now costs Dh0.75.
The price of UAE short cucumber dropped from Dh4.95 per kilogramme to Dh1.95. Potatoes from Saudi Arabia, which were Dh2.45 a kilogramme, are now sold for as little as Dh1.15.
The MoE collated the prices last Monday covering 42 essential commodities.
