The price of a kilo of tomatoes and cucumbers has reached SR6, Zucchini SR8, and potatoes SR4, but it is expected that the price for tomatoes will hit SR10 while cucumbers and zucchini will soar to SR15 in Ramadan. The price of clothes, especially for children, too has been affected by the recent price increase. “The prices of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, potatoes, and onions begin to increase in Shaban and get higher until Ramadan 20th when they start to decline again,” said Abdulraheem Muhammad, a vegetable seller at a hypermarket. Some times the price increase is as much as 150 percent, he said. Saad Al-Malki, a customer at a mall, said hypermarkets exaggerate vegetable and fruit prices. “When you ask them about the cause of such spike, they say because goods are imported by airplane every day. But this is a naïve justification and nobody falls for this anymore,” he said. High production costs Zayed Al-Muhamadi, an importer, said a big part of the price problem is due to internal causes. “Some sellers keep the products in their warehouses until their prices get higher. It is nothing but greed,” he said. Fahd Al-Salimi, a trader who imports clothes, said the increase in the prices of children's clothes is due to the low availability of long-stable cotton production over the past years. “The other reasons, he said, are increase in operational costs, raw material, labor, shipping, insurance, customs-delay fees, storing and transportation,” he said. Dr. Saad Al-Ghamdi, an economics expert, said it is better for importers to form groups and purchase goods in bulk. “It would give them more room to negotiate prices with foreign companies,” he said, adding that it is better to purchase clothes for SR100 million than SR1 million to get a higher discount. Saudi investors should be encouraged to enter into investment partnerships with other foreign companies to produce rice, wheat, and barley so they get better prices, said Dr. Al-Ghamdi, who noted that Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Sudan have started benefits from the approach. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Daghastani, another economics expert, said the government should form a commission to monitor markets and ensure that prices are fair. “The commission should check the actual prices of a product from the manufacturer, not from the dealer's invoices, because these are often exaggerated for the benefit of the dealer.” He said it was important to form cooperative societies to import goods from abroad and sell them to poor families at relatively low prices. Specifications and standards Saeed Ali Al-Bassami, another economist, said internal investment in the agricultural sector should be increased to reduce imports. “Saudi investors encounter several difficulties in agriculture, loans, and product marketing. The biggest obstacles facing investors are bureaucratic procedures and long customs
