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The prices of thousands of food and supermarket goods across the UAE have just been reduced to align with the latest government initiative to promote consumer welfare and keep household expenditures under control.
The Ministry of Economy confirmed on Monday that it has started a program that seeks to offer shopper discounts of between 25 percent and 60 percent for one month, starting March 1, across retail outlets in the country.
The ministry did not specify which retailers are offering price markdowns, but it said that the discounts apply to 5,000 food and consumer goods and are being implemented to ensure “price stability” in the market.
“[The] ministry coordinated with major retail outlets and cooperatives to implement the initiative, pointing out that the price cuts would include basic commodities, to support price stability, and provide many opportunities for consumers to obtain their necessities at lower prices,” said Dr. Hashem Saeed Al Nuaimi, the director of Competition and Consumer Protection in the Ministry of Economy.
The discounts are being offered ahead of the observance of Ramadan in the UAE, which is due to start in the later part of April. Prices tend to increase during the holy month, as families stock up on food to celebrate nightly iftar and suhoor.
At least one of the supermarkets that are supporting the government’s price reduction scheme, Union Cooperative said they are slashing their price tags by up to 30 percent for the whole month of March.
The discounts apply to, among others, more than 300 in-house products that carry the “Coop” label, said Dr. Suhail Al Bastaki, director of Happiness & Marketing Department of Union Coop.
Due to the continued decline in property rents and sales prices, as well as the costs of water, electricity, fuel and gas, the UAE’s cost of living has remained relatively unchanged. The country’s consumer price index (CPI), which measures the costs of goods and services, dropped marginally by 0.8 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year, according to the latest official statistics.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
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