Fresh vegetables and fruits have become 19 to 23 percent cheaper in the local market between July I and mid-August over the corresponding period last year, says the Ministry of Business and Trade lauding the steps it took to monitor the rates recently for the development.
The Minister of Business and Trade H E Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani said in a statement: “A slew of bold steps taken by the ministry has shown positive outcome for the people at large. The ministry had set up a team of experts to initiate dialogue between the government agencies and traders concerned to protect consumers”.
The ministry said its assessment of the drop in the prices of fresh fruits and vegetables is based on the prices prevailing at different hypermarkets, supermarkets and grocery shops as reported by the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA).
On average the prices of imported fruits and vegetables have declined sharply. For instance, the prices of ginger and potato have declined 50 and 43 percent, respectively. Similarly, the prices of marrow and cauliflower have come down 14 and eight percent, respectively.
However, the rates of Syrian tomato and Jordanian cabbage have remained unchanged during the period.
The ministry said that Australian carrot and Jordanian tomato which were quite expensive earlier and were out of the reach of the common man are cheaper now. Overall, the prices of all the above commodities have on average declined almost 15 percent this year.
The Director of the Consumer Protection Department of the Ministry, Sheikh Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, said in the statement that the price fluctuations being witnessed in the local market was a result of global factors.
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/162376-fruits-vegetables-get-cheaper-ministry.html
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