Government to intensify control over markets during Ramadan

AMMAN – The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply has ensured the availability of a wide range of goods at affordable prices, and has prepared a comprehensive plan to monitor the markets during Ramadan, ministry Spokesperson Yanal Barmawi said on Thursday.

The ministry has set a plan that seeks to “intensify control over the food sectors that witness higher demand during the holy month of Ramadan,” Barmawi told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Vegetables, fruits, red meat, poultry, eggs and bakery products as well as other commodities popular during the month of Ramdan will undergo closer monitoring processes, he added.

The Ministry has ensured the availability of ample quantities of food and Ramadan supplies at “low and stable prices,” he said, adding that it will start setting price caps for any commodities that witness “unjustified increase in prices.”

Barmawi added that the ministry ensures the provision of adequate and safe stocks of basic commodities by “continuously enhancing the Kingdom's reserve of wheat and barley, in addition to monitoring strategic stocks of other food commodities.”

Local production covers the needs of the local market in light of the current consumption rates for vegetables, eggs, red meat and fresh chicken, Barmawi highlighted, noting that it also covers 30 per cent of the consumption needs of red meat and vegetable oils.

Barmawi emphasised that the ministry’s plan schedules monitoring tours of markets in various governorates to “verify the commitment of the commercial sector to the provisions of industrial and trade laws, as well as to ensure consumer protection.”

He added that the ministry will increase its cadres to cover markets in all the governorates. It has also dedicated an operation room for the purpose of receiving complaints.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Supply Tarek Hammouri said in a recent press conference that Qatayef, a popular traditional sweet prepared during the month of Ramada, will be available in bakeries but will be sold packed.

“Making fresh Qatayef will require people to stand in lines and create crowds, so we have decided that it will be packed and prepared to be instantly bought in bakeries,” the minister added.