Fatima Muhammad

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — The hot summer season and the amnesty period are the two causes that will spark an increase in prices of vegetable and fruit, said Asim Abu Zanada, head of vegetable and fruit union here.



Previous Saudization efforts in the fruit and vegetable market (halaga) had failed years back as it reduced the vendors’ profit margin by over 70 percent, said Abu Zanada. Therefore the new amnesty period, he said, will only result end in further problems for this market, as “the correction period had already created a panic among expatiates working in vegetable and fruit market,” he added. He asserted that many have used this period to leave or will be forced to leave if they have not managed to correct their status during this grace period.



Another essential factor is the hot summer, which has caused in reduction in crops, as “many crops are grown in the spring, and since Ramadan is now in the middle of the summer I expect that prices will be markedly hiked.”

The sale of vegetable and fruit, he said, is based on auctions and mainly two or three individuals dominate the market and therefore they can easily set the prices.



The head of consumer protection society Nasser Al-Tuwaim said that they will document complaints from consumers and will also work on monitoring any price increase. After price increases are reported, the society would inform the concerned authorities.



Al-Tuwaim said that they rely heavily on increasing the awareness of the public. The consumers, he said, need to be “clever and should not do last-minute shopping.”



Last-minute shopping, he said, provides the best chance for traders to increase prices and also to display items whose expiry date are soon.



According to him there are no excuses for increasing prices this Ramadan because the market is full of consumer demand.



Al-Tuwaim also elaborated that they are working on a strategic plan that will regulate prices in the market. Among their recommendations are establishing cooperative consumer societies where goods can be sold at affordable prices. They have also called on the storage of products that are most in demand to prevent any increase in prices. Among the ten recommendations that are to be filed to the higher authorities is their call for enhancing agricultural investment in different countries.



The consumer protection society, said Al-Tuwaim, calls also for the creation of a Gulf united system for buying food products from different exporting countries, as is the case of medications, especially that 80% of food in the region is imported, stated Al-Tuwaim.