Ministry of Commerce and Industry is to relaunch the publication of the food price index at the end of next October after an eight-month absence. An official from Consumer Affairs at the Ministry of Trade and Industry said the index, which will be available at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry website www.commerce.gov.sa Ramadan would focus on basic commodities and be continuously updated to allow for comparisons with neighboring countries through the weekly price monitoring. Minister of Trade and Industry Abdullah Zainal had previously spoken of his desire to see a return of the index which had ceased publication after being passed over to his ministry from the Riyadh Mayor's Office in January of this year. In another move welcome to consumers, the ministry recently started issuing on its website a daily bulletin of average prices for over 20 Ramadan products, and will continue publishing the figures every day on official Ramadan working days. The bulletin, as was the case with the price index, has been well received by the public, many of whom say it is a great help in preventing price fixing as they print out the price lists and compare them with goods on display as they go about their shopping.
