With the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, the prices of all food items have registered a marked increase at all shops and markets of Al-Ahsaa's cities and villages. Prices of vegetables and fruits have been increasing steadily since the beginning of last week, several people Al-Watan spoke to alleged. They also called on the Ministry of Commerce to step in to control the prices of these essential commodities especially during the holy month of Ramadan. Many customers said they have opted for cheaper substitutes as they are no longer able to afford the items which place burdens on their monthly budgets. The level of desperation of the customers is high and many of them are openly calling for an organized boycott of expensive food items, particularly fruits and vegetables, to force traders to sell them at realistic prices in order to avoid incurring losses. Nizar Al-Mousa, a Saudi, is urging rationalized consumption as a measure to counter price rigging. Another consumer, Ali Al-Shawaker, said he is keen on buying from wholesale shops and discount stores: “I used to pile my shopping cart high for no more than SR200 but now I am spending over SR500 for a few items only,” he said. Sami Al-Sa'id has decided to stop buying certain fruits until their prices go down in the coming days. Sadeq Al-Hadb is of the view that breaking import cartels will create competition among traders and will force prices to go down to a more realistic level. To counter price rigging, people are urging the Ministry to issue price lists for all food and other supplies and for the strict monitoring of pricing . Al-Madina Arabic daily also reported that many citizens were shocked at the price hikes of a large number of food items, which were 100 percent and more in some cases. At many of the vegetable and fruit markets located in the northern and southern parts of the governorate, dozens of expatriates and overstayers control selling and buying activities and continue to send prices skyrocketing, giving feeble pretexts such as prices being set at the central vegetable market. A number of official importers operating at the market have denied the allegations and have ascribed price hikes to greed on the part of a number of traders. Importers also indicated that no shortage in supplies was noted. On Monday, cucumbers were selling for more than SR9 per kg and tomatoes for SR8 per kg. __
