JEDDAH: Market experts say that the prices of Japanese-made electronic goods are expected to rise by 10 percent in the wake of last month's earthquake and tsunami in the Fukushima. Ramzi Al-Maidhan, an electronics market specialist, said the Saudi market habitually sees large sales of Japanese products, notably in cars and electronic and electrical products. “The volume of the market is big, and there are more than 20 international agents from European, Japanese and American companies giving the consumer greater choice,” he said. “Many companies will have products in reserve, but the extent will differ from one to the next. One many have enough stored products to last a month, and others three months.” He described the situation for factories and companies in Japan as “currently difficult”. “They have almost been brought to a halt,” he said. “The disaster has hit all sectors of the economy and paralyzed industry, and this also affects the export of electrical components to other companies around the world.” Al-Maidhan said that in the next two or three months he expects prices to rise by ten percent before returning to normal levels once production activity is renewed in Japan. “Many Japanese firms have factories outside Japan — in Thailand, Singapore and China — that won't be affected. The ones affected will be the factories in Japan which produce 100 percent Japanese-made products.” An electronics salesman in Jeddah said that sales of Japanese products on the local market remain high despite price rises, and that other brands of goods have been given the chance to come to customers' attention. “I still think prices will rise further,” Muhammad Ahmad said. “That's only to be expected given that many people have been given the two-month salary payment which will be reflected in sales on the local market.
