made clothes will increase by 50 percent at the start of the new Hijri year (Dec. 7) as exporting countries raised costs and also due to new customs regulations introduced recently in the Kingdom. There will initially be a 20 percent price rise because of hikes in textile prices and delays caused by the Ministry of Trade's inspection of imported clothing. The examination period can take a month which burdens importers with storage costs, in addition to examination fees that vary according to the amount of goods. They said clothes that used to cost SR35 will now be sold for SR43 and no less than SR49 from December. Exporting companies started raising prices six months ago when they announced a 10 percent increase. There have now been price increases for two consecutive months, which will see costs rise by 50 percent. Major importers have been communicating with exporters abroad because prices have started to approach a level that cannot be borne by poor consumers. However, they said there has been no response yet on calls for a price reduction. Muhsen Al-Hammami, director of marketing and projects at a major importing company, said one of the reasons for the increase, especially of goods imported from China, is that the Chinese currency has climbed while the Saudi riyal is pegged to the US dollar. Over 90 percent of clothes are imported from China. “But this is not the only reason. The large-scale development projects being executed in China have seen an increase in salaries, which has had an impact on clothing manufacturers.” He said these costs have been passed on to importers. Al-Hammami said most importers have started importing their goods from other countries like Vietnam and India. Ibrahim Al-Aqili, head of the Customs Clearance Committee of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said prices may increase because of a decision issued 15 days ago which mandates the examination of all imported clothes, fabric and textiles by the laboratories of the Ministry of Trade. “The decision caused additional expenses for importers.”
