Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — A World Trade Organization expert has said the Ministry of Commerce decision to restore the prices of dairy products to its previous levels does not contravene WTO's rules or free market principles, local media reported on Tuesday. Fawaz Al-Alami, who headed the Kingdom's negotiations to join the WTO, said the ministry's intervention aims to curb fluctuating prices in the dairy sector. The ministry is trying to regulate the market by setting prices that are affordable to consumers, he added. Businesses in the private sector have been searching for ways to maintain their independence and control over prices without any government interference. They pointed to the Kingdom's agreement with the WTO that stipulates the prices of products and services are subject to the economic principles of supply and demand and competiveness of the local market. Al-Alami said one of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's basic tasks is to organize the local market in a way that does not contradict free trade and market principles. He said there are two types of organization. The first way is opening up the market to competition between domestic and imported products. The second way is to influence the level of fluctuating prices to avoid harming consumers. The ministry has resorted to the second method, which is still in line with WTO rules. He made it clear the WTO allows organizations to regulate local markets as long as they do not violate the principle of transparency defined by the organization. According to the WTO, setting prices is the responsibility of the market, while regulating them falls under the jurisdiction of the relevant ministry, he said. He added: “For example, medicines come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health but regulating their prices is the responsibility of the Ministry of Commerce. “Cement and food is also the Commerce Ministry's responsibility while hotel rates come under the jurisdiction of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.”
