USA2UAE.COM

UAE Government to Slash Food Prices

UAE to slash food costs as global prices plunge

DUBAI – The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it would move to bring down the cost of basic food items charged by retailers because they were no longer appropriate following a slump in world commodity prices.

The second-largest Arab economy last year signed a series of agreements with supermarket chains to fix the cost of basic food items such as sugar, cooking oil, rice and flour at 2007 levels in an effort to curb inflation at a 20-year peak.

But many of those prices now exceed the global average by 25 percent after oil prices collapsed almost $100 a barrel from a peak last July, said Hashim Saeed Al-Neaimi, the manager of consumer protection at the UAE’s Ministry of Economy.

“We need to match the overall downturn in global food prices,” Neaimi told Reuters.

The ministry planned to sign new deals with retailers to reduce fixed selling prices for foods, which would also cut into retailers’ profit margins, he said.

“Since food prices have gone down globally it is only fair to bring them down here too and this will take effect in about one to two weeks’ time,” Neaimi said…SOURCE

Some Foods Are Getting Cheaper

Supermarkets and traders in Dubai say food prices have dropped significantly because of the global economic downturn and falling oil prices.

Perishable items such as fruit and vegetables were up to 30 per cent cheaper, and some traders say shoppers will benefit further during the next few months as prices continue to ease.

“The prices of food items have declined sharply since the past two months,” said Nandkumar, communications manager of Emke Group that runs the Lulu supermarket chain.

“The global economic crunch along with falling oil prices are the causes of this trend,” he said.

Khaleej Times first reported in December that officials expected prices of basic food items to drop by 25 per cent in January.

Dr. Hashim Al Nuwaimi, Director of the Consumer Protection Department in the Ministry of Economy, had said the department had reached an agreement with retailers to reduce prices in line with lower oil prices.

Faisal Al Arshi, deputy director of the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society, told Khaleej Times then that they were expecting a price drop of at least 30 per cent.

Mohammed Haji, the owner of Family Supermarket chain in Dubai, said on Tuesday prices had started falling since December and the trend was expected to continue.

“The prices of all perishable food stuffs, including rice, vegetables and fruits have been falling due to the plummeting oil prices,” he said.

“The current scenario has forced all to spend only for the essential items. The stocks are getting stuck due to this,” he said.

Shakeer C., divisional manager of fruit and vegetable wholesaler Jaleel Trading, said the prices of fruits and vegetables had dropped by almost 30 per cent. “A kilo of U.S. apples, the cost of which was Dh3.65 in December, now rests at Dh2.25. Grape prices have fallen from Dh8.30 to Dh6.65. Similarly all the vegetable prices have also declined,” he said. “The fall in oil prices reduced the transportation costs and the credit crunch made people spend less, causing the price decline,” he said.

Dubai residents, used to climbing prices, welcomed the trend. “It’s really a relief. The prices of food items were high in Dubai and everybody was worried about the high inflation,” said Maria Liyasova, a Dubai resident. “The fall in prices in food items will help to organise the family budget…SOURCE

Food Prices Finally Set to Drop in the UAE

Prices of daily-use commodities are expected to drop by 25 per cent in January when the fresh stocks arrive, Dr Hashim Al Nuiemi, Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy, told Khaleej Times on Sunday.

The prices of several commodities have dropped in the exporting countries following the huge drop in oil prices in the international market.

The ministry has reached an agreement with the major retailers in the country to reduce prices of commodities as soon as the current stocks imported at high prices are sold out and the new ones arrive.

“We will hold a meeting with them very soon to make sure that the current stocks are cleared by January. After this, the prices will be reduced,” Dr Al Nuiemi said. The MoE has started implementing several initiatives to make sure that the traders stick to their commitment to lower prices as per the agreement.

The ministry’s inspectors are out on the job at markets.

Faisal Al Arshi, deputy director of the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society, said they are expecting a price drop of at least 30 per cent.

“As soon as we receive the fresh stocks under the new price list, the society will also reduce the prices of the current stocks though they were imported at high prices.

In fact, the prices of rice and wheat flour, which had been on a high for several months, have already come down.

“The prices of basmati rice of all companies came down by Dh4-5 in the last two months. Before November, the price of a 5kg bag of basmati rice was Dh50, now it is Dh45. Similarly, the prices of non-basmati variety from Thailand and Vietnam have also dropped by around Dh10,” said a retailer in Dubai. The price of wheat flour too has witnessed decline. A 10kg bag, which earlier cost Dh30, is now priced at Dh26.

Residents have expressed their delight at the good news of expected lower prices of essential commodities…SOURCE

Home Upgrades

Today was a busy one .. I got 2 things for home. Though they might seem very insignificant, but I honestly think they will change the way we significantly do things around the house.

Deep Freezer.
I’ve been crunching some numbers lately. With the cost of food rising in this place (and everywhere else for that matter), it may only seem reasonable to look at stockpiling and storage. So, i went to Carrefour the other day and bought me one of them Small deep freezers. Now, instead of me buying 1 or 2 chickens every time i visit the mall. I’ll go to the wholesaler and get me a 12 piece cartoon. And instead of buying lamb or beef by the kilo, i’ll head straight to the Abattoir, and get me a half a lamb or something like that. It’ll be fresh and will definitely cost less.

With Ramadan being one month away, I think its the perfect time for this. If you know anything about Ramadan, food prices tend to go up like CRAZY here. The freezer cost was about Dhs 500. But i know it will save me loads of money and, most important, time.

New DVD player.
For some odd reason, i’ve been noticing, when it is very late at night and things are really really quiet, that my DVD player makes an annoying hissing, humming sound. Odd thing about this, it only does that when the machine is switched off! The sound disappears when I switch it on.

So, today, I though of buying another one. I didn’t want anything fancy, because I already watch everything on the laptop. Just wanted something quiet and would play my daughter’s Dora, Barney and Winnie the Poo DVDs.

By pure luck, I found a DVD player that actually plays Divix files. Not only that, it has a USB port at the front panel. I wasn’t sure it would play the AVI files that i have, but it was for about Dhs 200. And i wanted a new DVD player anyways. I just bought it and tried it the first thing i came home, and guess what. It worked. Now, i can watch movies on my 42″ without having to burn stuff, it just plays anything I download straight off any USB stick. Yay.

Oh, and remember this? Well, they actually came and fixed the ceiling light fixture today.

Pretty productive.. don’t u think?