JEDDAH: Prices of rice meals have remained at a boiling point in the city, despite an approximate 30 percent fall in the rates of the staple crop locally and globally.
Restaurants rush to increase the prices of meals as soon as the rates of rice or other commodities rise even slightly, but look the other way when the prices fall in the market, consumers interviewed by a local newspaper were quoted as saying on Saturday.
Majority of consumers said meals are overrated, and criticized the absence of regulators. They cited weak supervision and lack of price control measures as the reason behind it.
During a visit to a number of restaurants, the newspaper journalists spotted resentment among consumers over the prices of meals.
Fayez Al-Harbi and Majid, customers at a restaurant, said the Ministry of Commerce and Investment should intervene and order the restaurant owners to reduce prices of meals.
They also pointed to the need for supervisory teams to monitor the performance of restaurants, both in terms of prices and hygiene, especially in view of the fast approaching Holy Month of Ramadan.
“Although some municipalities in the north and south of the Kingdom issued new pricing for restaurants in response to the decline in rice prices in the domestic market, a lot of cities especially major ones, are continuing to charge the old rates,” they said.
Nayef Al-Sharif, chairman of the food committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, said, “There is a decline in the prices of rice from exporting countries due to an increase in production and stopping of exports to Iran.”
He called on restaurant owners to respond to the decline in rice prices and to reduce the meal rates that have been quite high for a long time.
Al-Sharif said that Saudi Arabia imports 1.4 million tons of rice in different forms, which is worth about SR3 billion, annually.
Mohammed Al Buqami, spokesman for the secretariat of Jeddah, said price monitoring is not the secretariat’s mandate, but rather the responsibility of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment.
Samir Al-Ghamdi, a rice distributor, said rice prices are expected to decline further in the coming months. “Stores now have large stocks to last till the end of this Hijri year, and any increase in the coming period is not justified, either from suppliers or owners of retail stores or restaurants.”
Restaurants rush to increase the prices of meals as soon as the rates of rice or other commodities rise even slightly, but look the other way when the prices fall in the market, consumers interviewed by a local newspaper were quoted as saying on Saturday.
Majority of consumers said meals are overrated, and criticized the absence of regulators. They cited weak supervision and lack of price control measures as the reason behind it.
During a visit to a number of restaurants, the newspaper journalists spotted resentment among consumers over the prices of meals.
Fayez Al-Harbi and Majid, customers at a restaurant, said the Ministry of Commerce and Investment should intervene and order the restaurant owners to reduce prices of meals.
They also pointed to the need for supervisory teams to monitor the performance of restaurants, both in terms of prices and hygiene, especially in view of the fast approaching Holy Month of Ramadan.
“Although some municipalities in the north and south of the Kingdom issued new pricing for restaurants in response to the decline in rice prices in the domestic market, a lot of cities especially major ones, are continuing to charge the old rates,” they said.
Nayef Al-Sharif, chairman of the food committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, said, “There is a decline in the prices of rice from exporting countries due to an increase in production and stopping of exports to Iran.”
He called on restaurant owners to respond to the decline in rice prices and to reduce the meal rates that have been quite high for a long time.
Al-Sharif said that Saudi Arabia imports 1.4 million tons of rice in different forms, which is worth about SR3 billion, annually.
Mohammed Al Buqami, spokesman for the secretariat of Jeddah, said price monitoring is not the secretariat’s mandate, but rather the responsibility of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment.
Samir Al-Ghamdi, a rice distributor, said rice prices are expected to decline further in the coming months. “Stores now have large stocks to last till the end of this Hijri year, and any increase in the coming period is not justified, either from suppliers or owners of retail stores or restaurants.”
