By SIDI MOHAMED
DOHA: Prices of fruits and vegetables in Qatar are not higher compared to other GCC countries and the daily price list issued by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce has helped stabilise the prices, a senior official of the ministry said yesterday.
Abdulla Khalifa Al Kuwari, Director, Licensing and Quality Control Section, urged consumers to check the official price list available at all outlets to ensure they are not cheated.
He, however, said the department had not received any complaints about shops selling the perishables at prices higher than those in the price list.
Al Kuwari was speaking to the media on the sidelines of an inspection campaign conducted by the ministry in the auction area of the central fruit and vegetable market yesterday.
The surprise raid was conducted by the Commercial Fraud Section at the Consumer Protection Department and the Market Control Section at the ministry.
Inspectors stopped a trader from selling imported fruits after spoilt items were found in his stocks. The sale was stopped to check his remaining stocks.
An average of 132,598 packages of imported vegetables and 33,000 packages of fruits reach the central market every day, officials said. The campaign aimed to monitor daily auction prices and prevent violations related to prices or the quality of the items for sale. Saudi Arabia and Jordan top the countries exporting vegetables to Qatar, followed by Lebanon and Egypt.
Al Kuwari stressed the need for strict monitoring on the marker as Qatar is importing fruits and vegetables from many countries. He said there are daily visits by a special unit to monitor auction prices before issuing the daily price list. There are also surprise raids to detect other violations.
“We collect samples of vegetables and fruits to check quality and whether the boxes carry necessary information like prices, quantity and source country, among others,” said Yousuf Al Suwaidi, Assistant Director, Consumer Protection Department. He said violations were mostly related to quality and wrong or incomplete information about the products and that erring traders could be fined and their goods seized.
The Peninsula
