Food prices skyrocket ahead of holy month

With Ramadan approaching, there has been a considerable hike in food prices, Arab News has discovered. This comes even as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has warned it would take action against those raising prices without official sanction.
According to an Arab News survey carried out yesterday, the price of a 45-kg pack of all-purpose flour has gone up from SR 22 to SR 45; a 40-kg rice pack from SR 205 to SR 228 and a 15-kg pack of daal (lentil) from SR 58 to SR 67.
A one-kg pack of cucumber has risen from SR 2 to SR 4 and 12-kg of tomatoes from SR 24 to SR 32. The prices of dried figs, apricot and apricot paste (Kamardeen) have also gone up drastically.
An official from a leading supermarket chain said that prices are up at retail outlets mainly because the suppliers have increased prices.
A food importer said that the prices of most food and vegetables coming from Turkey, Lebanon and Syria have risen. “The ongoing war in Syria has contributed greatly to the price hike because the goods from Turkey also have to come through Syria.”
Food merchant Mohammad Al-Anisi said many food items have increased by 15 percent over the last 10 months for various reasons, related to the country of origin and inflation. He said prices have increased for rice, sugar, cooking oil and frozen chicken.
Economic observer Abdel Rahman Al-Qahtani said the consumer price index went up by 3.8 percent in May compared to the same period last year. This was caused by a 6.4 percent increase in the prices of food and drinks.
He said that the ministry's order for price tags on foodstuffs was a good thing, but this still allowed room for manipulation.