The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has held a meeting with representatives of shopping malls and large retail outlets across Qatar to discuss preparations for Ramadan, maintain price stability and ensure that basic consumer goods - food and non-food items - are sold at the same price throughout the holy month.
The meeting comes after the ministry announced price caps on more than 50,000 food and non-food products throughout Ramadan in its latest initiative, in co-operation with shopping malls and large retail outlets.
In a press statement yesterday, the MEC said the list of shopping malls and large retail outlets (and their branches) includes Al Meera Consumer Goods Company, Carrefour Hypermarket, LuLu Hypermarket, Family Food Centre, Masskar Hypermarket, Quality Hypermarket, Safari Hypermarket, Spinneys, Food Palace, Saudia Hypermarket, Megamart, Al Rawabi Supermarket, Grand Hypermarket, Grand Mart, Food World, Al Safeer and Al-Duhail complex.
The MEC urged all shopping malls and retail outlets across the State to maintain stable prices for food and non-food items and refrain from increasing prices without obtaining the approval of the committee that sets price caps and profit margins in line with Article 2 of Ministerial Decision No 8 of 2013, which regulates price hikes on commodities and services.
The price caps are the latest in a series of initiatives launched by the ministry to mark the holy month under the theme ‘#Aqal_Min_Al_Wajeb’, Arabic for ‘#the_least_we_can_do’. The initiative comes within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to maintain balanced and stable prices, and prevent any unjustified increases in the prices of commodities and consumer goods, the statement notes.
The list of capped prices covers more than 50,000 food and non-food items, including poultry, eggs and their derivatives, frozen meat and its derivatives, milk (fresh, condensed and powdered), dairy products, tea, coffee products, sugar, halawa, jam, legumes, cereals, rice and its derivatives, biscuits, potato chips, mineral water, fresh and canned juices, canned food, edible and cooking oil, milk, baby food, baby diapers and sanitary napkins of all kinds, personal hygiene products and household detergents, tin foil, preservatives, tissue paper, and household items of all kinds.
The ministry stressed that it would not tolerate any violations of Law No 8 of 2008 on consumer protection and its regulations, and would intensify its inspection campaigns to crack down on violations. The MEC said it would refer those who violated laws and ministerial decrees to the competent authorities, who would - in turn - take appropriate action against the perpetrators in order to protect consumer rights.
The initiatives marking the holy month of Ramadan have been designed to cover all aspects of the ministry’s activities in terms of organisation, partnership and support, and raise awareness on various consumer and commercial topics.
The MEC will also launch new initiatives aimed at bolstering partnerships between consumers and merchants such as the ‘Ataa’ - Arabic for ‘giving’ - and ‘National Product’ initiatives. 
It has launched the discounted consumer goods initiative and will unveil the outcome of the Al Baraka corporate social responsibility programme launched last year, as well as other initiatives to regulate markets and stimulate commercial sectors. 
The ministry has urged all consumers to report violations by submitting complaints and suggestions through the call centre: 16001, e-mail: [email protected], Twitter: MEC_QATAR, Instagram: MEC_QATAR, and the MEC application for iPhone and Android devices: MEC_QATAR.

Inspection drive

The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has announced plans to carry out intensive inspection campaigns round the clock in the local market ahead of and during the holy month of Ramadan. The campaign will cover all parts of Qatar and the various commercial and service establishments located around the country, the MEC has said in a press statement. The objective is to ensure their compliance with the stipulations of Law No 8 of 2008 on consumer protection and Law No 5 of 2015 regarding commercial and industrial stores and street vendors, and other related ministerial regulations.




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