The wholesale price of tomatoes fell to SR8 per carton at the Taamir vegetable and fruit market in Riyadh on Monday.

However, retailers in Jeddah were selling one carton for SR19. The price was SR15 at open stalls east of the Haramain Expressway and at other places it was sold at SR17, while hawkers were selling it for less.

Municipal regulations stipulate that a trader who unjustifiably hikes prices deserve fines of up to SR5,000 and closure of his shop for up to a week. Member of the commercial fraud committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) Fahd Al-Jadaani said tampering with prices at vegetable markets could be stopped only if regular inspections are made and violators punished.

A member of the committee Muhammad Al-Ahmadi warned against buying from vegetable hawkers because most of the products sold by them are leftover farm products.

Al-Ahmadi attributed price variations in different markets to factors such as the difference in transportation costs between towns and varying rent rates. However, he said if there is a price variation at all, it should be at reasonable levels without harming the interests of consumers.

“Consumer protection organizations should beef up their activities and the chamber committees responsible to track down commercial fraud should also discharge their duties properly,” he said.

Arab News discovered a number of illegal vegetable markets operating in poor hygienic environments in the Quwaiza district, in several neighborhoods in south Jeddah, on Tahliah Street, at locations close to Ghurab souk on Baladiya Street and in Hendawiyah on King Fahd Street.

However, a source at the Jeddah municipality said municipal officials have stepped up inspection campaigns against hawkers. It added the municipality planned to open new vegetable markets in different parts of the city.