The experts committee at the Council of Ministers is considering a plan to work out a uniform price index for food and consumer products across the Kingdom. Prince Dr. Mansour Bin Mit'eb Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, said the objective behind the index, resembling the one issued by Riyadh Mayoralty last year, is to monitor prices of food and consumer products all over the Kingdom. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is studying a plan to announce the prices of commodities according to the value stated on the customs clearance card when they were brought into the country. The new plan by the ministry is aimed at acquainting consumers with the difference in the price of the commodity when it enters the Kingdom and the profit added by merchants when the commodity is sold at retail outlets. Also, the ministry has set up a consultation office to study the impact of the rise in prices on merchants and consumers. Experts predict that the Kingdom's markets will witness a drop of 30 to 50 percent in the price of food. A Ministry of Commerce source said that chicken prices have recently dropped 20 to 30 percent and are likely to drop another 30 percent in the next few days.
