Bahrain promises sufficient food stock, stable prices this Ramadan too

TDT |  Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism team conducted an inspection visit to Manama’s Central Market to ensure that vegetables, fruits, meat, fish and other basic foodstuffs are sufficient and that their prices remain stable ahead of the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The visit, in cooperation with the Capital Municipality and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, was in accordance with royal directives and in fulfillment of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to verify the availability of consumer goods and control prices in the markets.

According to Abdulaziz Al Ashraf, Assistant Undersecretary for Control and Resources, the ministry continuously monitors and follows up on the movement of central markets in terms of the flow of food commodities, identifying the obstacles that prevent this and working on overcoming them in coordination with the relevant authorities, which contributes to limiting the rise in food prices in general.

It also ensures that any illegal activities are monitored and dealt with in accordance with the established procedures. During the inspection visit, the supervision team emphasised that the market situation is favourable, indicating merchants’ readiness for the Holy Month by importing key commodities at an early date.

They also noted that the food stock, including those locally produced, is sufficient for several months even after Ramadan. Local traders also confirmed that food prices are reasonable and that they are doing everything possible to supply the market with an abundance of food products.

They added that many food shipments are on their way to the Kingdom to supply the markets with the main commodities of foodstuffs, and they are diversifying sources. Apart from vegetable, fruit market and meat, the inspection team also visited a few commercial markets.

Al Ashraf met with a number of merchants, who raised a number of issues such as increasing the availability of lowcost products and the organisational processes that take place to create appropriate market conditions, whether for sellers or consumers.