In a pursuant statement, the Ministry of Interior lashed out at those who manage to store barley with the intention to dry it up from the market and then sell it at higher prices or those who sell it now in ballooned prices. Citing reports that barley is getting out of stock in the market, prices are sky racketeering to record levels and the market to have got confused due to a defect in the supply network, the Ministry warned that whoever falls subject to such violations will receive tough punitive measures. Governors of administrative regions of the Kingdom as well as directors of other authorities concerned were directed to stage surprise inspection visits to stores and shelves to make sure that the barley-related instructions were strictly observed. Otherwise, violators of those instructions were set to receive deterrent penalties including sealing of shops, defamation in three mass-circulation local newspapers at the expense of the violator, deprivation from government subsidy and imposition of financial fine, the statement concluded.
