There has been a perceptible decline in the prices of essential commodities worldwide, but that decline is not visible in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Muhammad Al-Hamad, head of the Consumer Protection Society (CPS), has said. The worldwide recession has somewhat subsided but the Kingdom seems largely unaffected by the trend to lower prices, he said. “We do not feel this price reduction in the Kingdom as if it's not a part of the global economy,” he said. “Merchants have realized that citizens here have good purchasing power. As such they tend to ignore the decline in prices elsewhere,” Al-Hamad added. Despite the government's subsidy on some basic commodities, he said, high prices are continuing. “Obviously some merchants are exploiting the government's subsidy at the expense of the consumer,” he added. There are several factors, Al-Hamad noted, leading to some domestically-produced food products being more expensive than imported ones. Some products are imported by several importers and this increases competition, leading to lower prices. Another factor is that some imported products are not as fresh and safe as local ones. Some of them are preserved for a long time and contain additives, not to mention the chemicals and hormones used in their manufacturing. This raises the demand for locally produced foodstuffs and consequently increases their prices, he said. Al-Hamad said the CPS requires cooperation from all bodies related to consumers and markets, noting “a single body, whatever authority it has, will not be able to oversee and control prices in all the Kingdom's markets.” The CPS, however, receives consumers' complaints and investigates them, he said, adding that the society's control will be enhanced when its projected subsidiary committees are formed. These committees will be assigned field tasks involving studies, statistics and analysis of the situation and prices in the market. “They will be established as soon as the required financial capabilities are available to us,” he said.
