JEDDAH: Twenty-five traders, mostly expatriates, have been accused of running an illegal cartel for cement and increasing its prices in Jeddah.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry said it is questioning the people involved in the racket, exploiting the rise in demand and shortage in supply.
The ministry found that most of the accused were expatriate workers who sold cement bags at higher prices, as much as SR19 per bag, five riyals more than the market price.
"We have already completed investigations with some individuals involved in the scandal, while inquiries are continuing with the others," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry has deployed five field teams to monitor cement prices at various sales outlets and distribution centers, especially in East Jeddah where a lot of construction work is taking place.
The ministry's officials inspected sales outlets for cement in the Zahra, Salama, Naeem, Haramain, Samir, Bariman and Bin Ladin districts and behind Raheeli petrol station.
The ministry's anti-commercial fraud officials were supported by municipality officials and police in their campaign against those who artificially increased cement prices to make quick money.
Meanwhile, cement companies have agreed to supply adequate quantities of the product in order to meet the growing demand from construction firms.
© Arab News 2011
