month salary bonus granted to Saudi public sector employees by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has led to an increase in prices of basic consumer goods. A recent market survey has shown that since the beginning of April, prices of basic consumer products have jumped by about 30 percent. Both the citizens and expatriates describe the increase as ‘unjustifiable,' blaming dealers for exploiting the public. Late last month, the Ministry of Trade and Industry began “naming and shaming” entities selling consumer goods above the set prices. A source from the ministry said that increased monitoring and measures to penalize offenders have come in response to the recent Royal Decree tasking the Ministry of Trade and Industry with deterring price fixing by setting penalties and publicly defaming offenders “whoever they may be”. The Royal Order instructed that the measures be applied with “zero tolerance or leniency”. During the last couple of weeks, various authorities tasked with keeping the tab on price rises have announced strict measures against “greedy” traders. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has launched a new service by which it publishes on a daily basis the prices of basic consumer commodities. The prices were highlighted on screens erected at malls. Initially the new service covered 20 provinces. The service will enable citizens to compare between the price on the purchase receipt and the one on the ministry's list. But some citizens are saying that they didn't see any screens, and even if they were there they did not change the continuing increase in price increases. Naif Marzouki, a Saudi, said the prices differ from one commercial center to another, which he said meant the price hike is not subject to any reason or logic and has nothing to do with the fluctuations in global prices. During the last couple of months, prices of foodstuffs recorded an increase of 8.3 percent. The prices of services increased by 8.9 percent in October compared to 7.9 percent in September. Home furniture prices increased by 0.4 percent in October compared to 4.3 percent in September last year.
