The Sultanate has sufficient stock of essential food items to meet the demand during the holy month of Ramadhan and prices in the local market will be monitored closely, according to the Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP).
The PACP, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF), has ensured the availability
of essential commodities that are high in demand during the month and consulted major retail chains to make
sure there is no scarcity of any product.
Speaking to the Observer, Omar bin Faisal al Jahdhami , Vice Chairman of the Consumer Services and Market
Watch, PACP said, “We work very closely with the ministry and the retail chains to ensure there is no scarcity of
essentials especially during the holy month of Ramadhan”.
“We consult all retailers and check the prices based on the local production and import of various. Prices are very much in alignment with the demand and supply of the market”, he added.
The Public Authority for Stores and Food Reserve has ensured adequate availability of basic food items and
commodities, as well as consumer goods in all the governorates, following which the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry offered free storage space for traders who wanted to buy more stocks.
Programmes for direct import from ports and airports under a well-studied plan that ensure adequate stocks are also in place. He is hopeful, based on the recent series of imports of around 329 shipments weighing 6,580 tonnes of vegetables and fruits over the past 11 days at the Central Fruits and Vegetables Market in Mawelah. These
imports are mostly from Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, India, Egypt, and South Africa.
“The availability of fruits and vegetables are ensured with these imports and no price hike will be allowed unless there is a legitimate reason behind it”, Al Jahdhami said. He added that if any trader wanted to revise the price of any item, he needed to get prior permission from the PACP.
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