RIYADH: Drastic increase in the prices of foodstuff coming from the Indian subcontinent has prodded consumers, particularly Indian and Pakistani expatriates, to seek the help of Saudi authorities to monitor the increases. They particularly pinpointed the meat, fruit and vegetable shops in Hai Al-Wazarat district and downtown Batha, which cater to the daily food needs of expatriates from the Indian subcontinent. The consumers complained that vegetable vendors have increased the prices of meat and vegetables on the pretext that inflation hit their countries where the foodstuffs come from. The price of chilled meat from India and Pakistan was increased twice in the past four months from SR30 per kg to SR34 per kg, compared to SR26 in 2010. But the meat vendors said they have to increase the price of the products they sell to cover the price increases in India and Pakistan. “We have a marginal profit on meat imported from India and Pakistan. We import the meat at SR31.50 per kg, which forced us to increase the price in the local market,” said Ali, a butcher at a meat shop. Huge demand for meat imported from India and Pakistan has driven the price increases as expatriates from the two countries prefer to eat meat coming from their countries. The expatriates prefer Indian or Pakistani meat not only for the taste but also for health reasons. Lambs slaughtered and imported fresh from their countries have lean meat and less fat. Saudi Arabia imports tons of mean from these countries by air three times a week. “I come to buy at meat shops that sell Indian or Pakistani lambs because my family does not eat any other kind of meat,” said Muhammad Yousuf, who lives in Al-Nasseem District, about 20 kilometers from Hai Al-Wazarat District, popularly known as Hara. Yousuf is among the huge number of expatriates from the Indian continent who buy foodstuff from Hara, and Batha for the daily kitchen needs. Syed Kareem, an engineer, said the price of vegetables have gone up exorbitantly since the reports of inflation in Saudi media. “There are some unscrupulous vendors, in both meat and vegetables, who are exploiting the market. Can you imagine the price of a packet of curry leaf, an important ingredient for Indian dishes, has been increased to SR2 from SR1?” he said.
