UAE to crack down on illegal price hikes, monitor discounts during Ramadan

Task forces will follow up and oversee promotions announced by supermarkets, retailers and cooperatives

Waheed Abbas

Published: Wed 6 Mar 2024, 1:29 PM

Last updated: Wed 6 Mar 2024, 9:57 PM

A national task force will monitor the prices of commodities and basic consumer products in the UAE during the holy month of Ramadan. The team will also keep a watch on the discounts announced by retailers in the country.

Abdullah Sultan Al Fan Al Shamsi, assistant undersecretary for the monitoring and follow-up sector at the Ministry of Economy, said that the authority would monitor how retailers comply with unit pricing while addressing any pricing violations of basic consumer products. Appropriate measures will be carried out to prevent any unjustified price hikes.

During Ramadan, the Ministry's task force will also follow up and oversee initiatives announced by cooperatives and retailers related to discount campaigns on prices of goods and products through their various branches.

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All the major supermarkets have announced discounts and promotions on thousands of productions worth over Dh100 million for the holy month. Retailers have launched multiple offers and campaigns such as price-locks, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), additional discounts through bank cards, raffles offering cars, and gift cards worth Dh5,000 and with the promise of “prices lower than last year”.

Along with big e-commerce players Amazon and Noon, local hypermarkets are also running special offers and discounts on both platforms – online as well as brick-and-mortar outlets.

Al Shamsi added that nearly 4,000 items are being promoted through advertising campaigns at the UAE market level, with discount rates ranging between 25 per cent and 75 per cent.

E-stores also offer discounts on commodities during the holy month of Ramadan. Basic commodities have over 40 per cent discounts, while seasonal commodities like vegetables and fruits, which are in high demand in the holy month, have discounts of up to 70 per cent. Many sales outlets have also increased their discount percentages, reaching as high as 75 per cent in Ramadan 2024.

The primary reason for the rise in promotions is the heightened competition among sales outlets, the availability of abundant supplies, and a greater level of consumer awareness.

As per the Hijri calendar published by the Dubai Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, Ramadan is expected to commence on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.

96,200 inspections

The Ministry and departments of economic development in different markets of the country conducted approximately 96,200 inspections in 2023. These inspections were conducted to confront violations related to price labelling and product quality monitoring and prevent commercial fraud and trademark infringements. As a result of these inspections, a total of 6,545 violations were detected.

In January and February of 2024, a total of 620 inspections were conducted.

The Consumer Protection and Commercial Control Department of the Ministry conducted over 26 meetings with suppliers of basic commodities in the country throughout 2023. These commodities included rice, flour, sugar, meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, juices, and more. The purpose behind these meetings was to guarantee the sufficient availability of these commodities, catering to the needs of consumers during the holy month of Ramadan this year.

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