DUBAI,13 March 2008 — The Union Cooperative Society (UCS) in Dubai has launched a program to curb inflation on foodstuff. Yesterday the society signed an agreement with the Ministry of Economy for the first phase of a program aimed at preserving the 2007 prices of more than 16 basic food items throughout 2008.
Food inflation in the UAE had reached record levels in 2007 with some basic foodstuff rising by as much as 90 percent. The ministry has been under a lot of criticism from the public for not doing much to curb the rising prices.
“The Union Cooperative Society’s first-phase initiative in fixing the prices of more than 16 goods underscores the vital role that co-op societies in the country can play in stabilizing commodity prices and preserving market balance,” said Minister of Economy Sultan Al-Mansouri.
Under the terms of the agreement, within the next few weeks the UCS will outline and implement a program for preserving last year’s prices of oil, rice, flour, eggs, sugar, powdered milk, tea, meat, chicken, fish, bread and a few other basic kitchen ingredients.
Mansouri called on other existing cooperative societies in the UAE to follow UCS’ and other cooperative societies’ example and participate in such initiatives; collaborating with the agreement and other concerned bodies to reduce inflation, preserve market balance, and facilitate the most effective supply and demand mechanisms.