Prices up

Consumer Association blames cartels for high prices of foodstuff items

The Technical Center for Pricing Policies at the Ministry of Economy and Trade released its weekly report on the prices of a basket of 60 foodstuff items.

The figures showed that the average price of meat products rose by 16 percent from the corresponding period of 2010. Prices of eggs and dairy products rose by ten percent from the same period of last year.

The average price of fresh vegetables saw an 18 percent drop from the same period of 2010. The selling price of fruits was unchanged from the same period a year earlier.

Ghaleb Sebai, official at the Lebanese Consumers’ Association, said that the prime reason for the prices’ hike is the monopoly exercised by merchants. He said that prices of basic commodities, namely sugar, cooking oil, and beans, have increased irrationally.

Sebai said that most merchants are not implementing the law that sets the profit margin for each commodity. He said that the Ministry of Economy and Trade should work for drafting a law that allows competition in order to put a ceiling on the prices’ increase.