Saudi Gazette report

NAJRAN — Several families in Najran claim they have been forced to postpone their shopping for school supplies because of the high prices of stationery material.



Many businessmen took advantage of the start of the school year to increase their prices by as much as 200 percent for some products, they said.



Families told Okaz/Saudi Gazette they did not expect prices to increase to this level, adding the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is not monitoring the market prices for stationery.



They said that the high prices were eating into their savings and called on the authorities to step in.



Ali Al-Resha, father of four, said the price hikes happen at the beginning of every school year.



He said the owners of stationery stores tend to increase their prices to a level that they cannot afford.



He said: “They know the family must shop for school materials and they take advantage of that to intentionally increase their prices to a level we cannot afford.



“Where is the Ministry of Commerce? “I have been saving from my salary to shop for school materials and even with this money I cannot afford the prices.”



Samran Al-Yami, a father of five, said: “This time the prices are higher than the previous year.



“This is becoming a big problem, especially for families with more than three children. “This year I paid more than SR600 for one child, so basically SR3,000 for all five children. “I am sure that people with low incomes cannot afford these prices. “I had to postpone shopping for other supplies until prices go down. “The other problem is that most of these products are low in quality.”

 

Yahya Awaji, a father of three, claimed prices are 50 percent higher compared with last year. He questioned what the Consumer Protection Association and Ministry of Commerce and Industry were doing to tackle this issue.



Umm Abdul Rahman, a mother of four, said she was shocked to find out that the price of a school bag she used to buy increased from SR100 last year to SR250 this year. “I was forced to go to low quality stores to buy cheap and low quality bags. “I was forced also to postpone my shopping until prices went down.” Mahmoud, a worker at a stationery store in Najran, said: “This is our season. “We have to pay the rent and salaries of the workers. “People are exaggerating and I believe that the increase in prices is completely normal.”