The Jordanian Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply referred 1,220 merchants to the judiciary during the first quarter of this year for committing catering violations and not adhering to the prices set for some commodities under the Industry and Trade Law.

The foreign trade official at the ministry, Imad al-Bazour, told The New Arab that daily monitoring is being imposed on the markets in various governorates to follow up on merchants’ commitment to the legislation governing the market and the price ceilings that are set for some commodities to counter the exaggeration and unjustified rise that sometimes occurs. He added that the law included Severe and strict penalties for those who violate the law, including the possibility of fines ranging between $1,400 and $4,200 and prison sentences between two and six months, or both penalties.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, since the beginning of the month of Ramadan, 367 monitoring tours of markets in various governorates have been carried out, during which more than 5,000 shops have been visited. According to Al-Bazour, the ministry conducts monitoring tours of the markets, accompanied by a force of public security, especially in areas where shops are controlled by expatriate workers. The ministry had set price ceilings for chicken due to the high prices in the local market and the lack of response from producers and traders to reduce and not exaggerate them.

The market control teams track the supply chains of goods to the local market, identify the party violating the law and take the necessary measures against it.

A member of the Amman Chamber of Commerce, Alaa Diranieh, told The New Arab that the commercial movement in Jordan has returned to stability after a clear activity during the beginning of Ramadan, as the demand for various food commodities increased. He added that the decline in purchasing power also led to a decline in the demand for food commodities. During this period, he expected that shops’ sales of foodstuffs would decrease during the second half of the holy month, and he said that the majority of shops adhere to the provisions of the law, and the matter is not devoid of some violations committed by some, such as not announcing the prices of goods or violating the price ceilings set for some materials. .

Diraniyeh added that the competition between shops is strong in the local market, and this is reflected in enhancing the abundance of goods and announcing discounts and offers that are in the interest of the consumer, and therefore the consumer has a role to play in making a comparison between places of purchase and knowing the fair prices of commodities, especially food ones.

The National Society for Consumer Protection in Jordan had called on citizens to boycott the purchase and consumption of high-priced commodities due to the exaggeration in their prices by some merchants.

The head of the association, Muhammad Obeidat, said: Since the beginning of the holy month, we have received hundreds of complaints from citizens about the successive rises in the prices of basic commodities, especially vegetables, chicken and red meat, due to the exploitation of some merchants on the one hand and the rush to buy in large quantities on the other.
Obeidat added that the rise in basic commodity prices has become a heavy burden on the shoulders of the middle and poor classes as a result of their weak purchasing power, due to the difficult economic conditions they live in as a result of the continuous waves of high prices, while the wages and salaries they receive have remained constant for several years.
Obeida appealed to housewives to rationalize consumption and purchase rationally, not to purchase except the necessary requirements that the family needs, to choose the appropriate times for purchase, and to pay close attention to the offers made on some commodities in terms of expiration date, validity, price, size and quantity of these materials.

The New Arab