Retailers in the UAE are forbidden from hiking the prices of nine essential commodities without approval from the Ministry of Economy, according to a new policy, adopted by the UAE Cabinet.
The products that “impact consumer purchasing power” include cooking oils, eggs, dairy, rice, sugar, poultry, legumes, bread and wheat. This is a preliminary list, with more staple items expected to be added later following price developments, the UAE government said.
Earlier this year, the Cabinet adopted another policy that obliges suppliers to submit evidence to justify price hikes of some of the most sought-after items like fresh and dry milk, fresh chicken and eggs, bread, flour, sugar, salt, rice and legumes, cooking oil and mineral water.
Another policy recently adopted by the Cabinet is the active support of local products.
“The goal is to encourage factories to use locally produced materials to support them,” said Sheikh Mohammed.
In October, food retail giant Carrefour announced it would be freezing prices of 200 everyday essentials until January.
In September, prices of food items and other goods being imported from India, Pakistan, Europe and the UK were forecast to see a significant drop due to a fall in freight rates and strengthening of the Emirati dirham against the rupee and pound, hence, helping the inflation to come down in the UAE.
