KUWAIT CITY, July 10: In a market survey carried out by Al-Seyassah daily, officials from Cooperative Societies Union (CSU) and a few citizens observed that the prices of commodities vary from one cooperative society to another wherein some cooperative societies are offering bogus promotions and discounts while several others have increased the prices of commodities prior to the Ramadan season.  

They insisted that the Price Monitoring Committee is not performing its duties in a proper manner, which has given the cooperative stores the freedom to cheat customers.

Board Chairman of Fintas Cooperative Society Nasser Al-Hamdan said the Price Fixing Committee at the CSU has not played the expected role of fixing the prices of commodities as a measure to eliminate any increase in prices beyond the limit.

Disclosed
He disclosed that the officials of CSU held a meeting recently with the officials of cooperative societies to brainstorm on how to deal with this situation.

He revealed that Fintas Cooperative Society has not received any demand from the suppliers to increase the prices while all the ongoing Ramadan promotions are in order.

“We will fully verify any demand from the supplier to increase the prices of the commodities in an effort to protect the interest of the consumers”, assured Al-Hamdan.

Former deputy chairman of CSU Faisal Bin Hajar accused the Price Fixing Committee of negligence of their responsibilities and duties.

He stressed that the suppliers have seized the opportunity to increase the prices by 70 percent without notifying CSU.

“The best way to deal with greedy suppliers is mass purchase from a single source, which will lead to stability in the prices of the commodities throughout the country”, suggested Faisal Bin Hajar.
Reacting to the situation, Kuwaiti citizen Ahmad Al-Dura’e blamed Ministry of Commerce and Industry for their failure in carrying out necessary monitoring activities.

He said consumers play a major role in this issue, advising them not to buy expensive commodities and choose cheaper alternatives.

He added that consumers tend to think of certain products as superior and they insist on buying only those products even when the prices are increased.

“Ministry of Commerce and Industry should be proactive in dealing with challenges related to the illegal increase in prices of commodities”, affirmed Al-Dura’e.