Local food, commodity prices on way to recovery

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The Industry, Trade and Supply Ministry on Saturday said that the local prices of food items have begun their recovery from the global food crises which occurred as a result of international oil price hikes, shipping costs, low supplies and other factors.

Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Yousef Shamali said that the ministry’s data shows that global price fluctuations “were clearly reflected” on local prices.

Shamali attributed this to the country’s competition-based market policy, which is the “biggest driver for balance” in the market, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He added that the contributing factors to the price decrease stem from a reduction in production costs which has occurred due to decreased oil prices, post-pandemic production resumption and availability of goods.

Shamali said that international price hikes in food and commodities during the first quarter of this year affected the local market less than the global markets, thanks to government support to the commercial sector to guarantee items’ availability at reasonable prices.

The minister said that the government took measures such as lowering inspection and handling fees, extending the storage periods of containers, lowering the sales tax on items, particularly vegetable oils and announcing financing tools that help curb price hikes.

Locally, the vegetable oil prices increased by 15.1 per cent between February and April before the government imposed price ceilings and lowered sales tax on the item. These measures stabilised local prices before their decrease of between 5-10 per cent in July, and additional 10 per cent drop in September, Petra added.