Ramadan and the price hiking of goods
The holy month of Ramadan is the month of worshipping God and doing all types of good deeds but unfortunately it is also the month in which the prices of many essential goods, such as food, increase dramatically. Increasing prices of goods during Ramadan by traders is a common annual problem in Saudi Arabia. The high demand by consumers on essential goods gives many merchants an opportunity to take advantage of consumers and increase the prices of goods by two or three times if not more. Ironically, consumers have no other option but to purchase these essential goods from merchants.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is the government body, which is responsible for monitoring the prices of goods in the market. However, the ministry’s attempts to control the prices of essential goods in Ramadan have not been effective due to the fact that the ministry does not have enough officers to go around and investigate the market. The reality is that a few officers in only some branches of the ministry in certain cities do not have the resources to monitor the prices of all the stores in the Kingdom.
The ministry has realized the problem of not having enough officers and staff to carry out this huge task and it has thus requested people to report any increase in the price of goods so that it can take appropriate measures against the suspected traders. Even the Consumer Protection Association (CPA), which is a private body, has requested consumers to do the same and report any increase in the price of goods, in order to coordinate with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. However, it is somewhat ironic that both the ministry and the CPA have requested consumers to report to them, yet the ministry is not able to investigate most of the received complaints as it does not have enough officers in the first place to do the job.
Therefore, in the absence of enough monitoring, many merchants have increased the prices of essential goods without any fear of the ministry and its officers. Of course there have been a few cases where some merchants have been investigated and punished thereafter for increasing their prices but still many others merchants have not been questioned.
What is also of concern is that Muslims from all over the world come to Saudi Arabia during Ramadan to visit the Two Holy Cities, Makkah and Madinah, and it creates a very bad image and impression of Saudi Arabia that in the land of the two Holy Cities there are greedy traders who try to take advantage of consumers during the holy month of Ramadan.
One of the solutions to overcome the problem of high prices of essential goods would be for the ministry to appoint more officers to investigate instances of price hiking. Also, the ministry should take aggressive action against merchants who increase prices during Ramadan and it should make sure that they are severely punished to set an example to other greedy traders who to act as a deterrent. Without taking harsh steps against these traders, we will continue to talk about the same issues year after year and in many Ramadan’s to come.
Dr. Qaisar Hamed Metawea
Attorney at Law-Partner
Mikwar, Akkad & Metawea Law Firm
Email: [email protected]
