RIYADH — Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi, Minister of Commerce, who also serves as Acting Minister of Media, assured the public (citizens and expatriates) on Tuesday that there are enough supplies of food items in the Kingdom, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted him as saying. Following his tour of several markets in Riyadh on Tuesday to assess the supply situation, Dr. Al-Qasabi stated: "Thanks to Allah, this nation is great and with the determination of its sons and its capabilities, it is having abundance of food supplies and stocks of the highest standards. The available quantities are very huge." Al-Qasabi reassured the public that the supply situation is excellent and there is great cooperation with the commercial firms and their owners as they are also keen to perform their national duty. Al-Qasabi warned: "The ministry's market supervision and inspection teams in all of the Kingdom's regions are working round the clock monitoring the prices. The ministry will not be lenient with any violators. We will strike with an iron hand and impose severe penalties against anyone who exploits the circumstances by manipulating and tampering with the prices." The ministry is monitoring the supply situation to ensure there are abundant supplies in the markets and sales outlets. It is monitoring and comparing the quantities and importers' data and the available quantities of goods in the sales outlets and warehouses, he stressed. During the past period, the ministry's supervisors and inspectors have carried out over 4,000 inspection tours of hypermarkets all over the Kingdom. The results of the tours have shown abundance of supply commodities and consumer goods. Furthermore, the prices are stable, there are sufficient stocks and there is highly streamlined flow of supply of goods to markets and sales outlets. This came within the framework of the ministry's efforts to monitor commercial markets and verify abundance, price stability and continuity of supply baskets. The minister's tour took him to several retail and wholesale outlets, Northern Riyadh fruit and vegetable market, and red meat, poultry and fish sales shops, among others, to ensure abundance of supplies. Al-Qasabi reassured all consumers about the supply situation in light of the exceptional circumstances and the precautionary measures taken by the country to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
