Notwithstanding the stringent instructions of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) on the necessity of controlling prices of the essential edible items during the ongoing holy month of Ramadan, there are complaints of over-pricing on some of the essential foodstuffs since the beginning of the economic and land transport blockade from across the border.

While calling for immediate intervention from the MEC for effective monitoring of grocery prices, some city residents complained that they had to pay more than 30-40% on Thursday than on the previous day's prices for select items, including rice, at groceries in the Vegetable Market area.
"While the price of a 35kg bag of raw Indian rice was QR105 a couple of days ago, it was found yesterday that a shopkeeper was selling the same bag for QR135. Similarly, there was a similar hike in the prices of rice in other shops of the same market and at most places the prices varied between QR125 and QR135," said a person in charge of purchase of provisions at a contracting firm, employing more than 750 workers.
There were also similar complaints about shops in other areas also. Though residents feel the major hypermarkets and supermarkets have maintained and controlled the prices of essential items, there are a number of groceries which are not adhering to the MEC instructions on prices of essentials during Ramadan.
When contacted, at least two wholesale suppliers told Gulf Times that there is no justification for some of the retail groceries to reportedly hike prices of essential items now.