JEDDAH: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry plans to post prices of essential food items in various shopping centers in the Kingdom on a daily basis in an attempt to keep consumers informed of the prevailing costs for these commodities. “The new price indicator aims to make prices of various essential food items in different shopping centers known to consumers and give them the opportunity to make their choice of where they should buy,” Commerce and Industry Minister Abdullah Zainal Alireza told the Saudi Press Agency after a meeting with owners of a number of leading shopping centers in several cities in the Kingdom in Riyadh on Thursday.
“Selected shopping centers should supply prices of various food items on a daily basis. The ministry will publish the price list alongside the price index,” Alireza said. The minister added that Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman was the first to introduce the idea of publishing price lists in Riyadh.
The price list and index scheme will initially cover seven cities: Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Abha and Tabuk.
The ministry also intends to publish price averages of food items, including the lowest and highest prices in 27 governorates, in a weekly manner. The lists will encourage sellers to compete to offer good commodities at affordable prices to consumers.
Another advantage of the publishing of price lists is that it will enable officials to track price trends at given periods.
It will also help economic researchers and analysts to make studies about price trends in various cities. A visual presentation of the implementation of scheme was also displayed in the meeting.
