Trade Ministry sets wholesale price ceiling for in-demand vegetables, eggs

AMMAN — The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply has set wholesale price ceilings for the vegetables most in-demand in the market due to “exploitation and deception by certain merchants”, according to Trade Minister Tareq Hammouri.

Although Hammouri, in cooperation with Minister of Agriculture Ibrahim Shahahdeh, had set price ceilings for retail selling prices for the same varieties of vegetables last week, the decision to further regulate prices at the wholesale level was made “to ensure that they are ultimately provided to citizens at acceptable selling prices”.

In a statement, Hammouri said that the ministry “found that there has been an unreasonable and unjustified surge in prices from some wholesalers”, adding in a press conference on Friday that the ministry has shut down over 100 shops due to similar violations.

The price ceilings that the ministry had previously set for vegetables at the retail level are still in place, according to the minister, who stressed that these new measures aim to “redress the imbalance in all stages of the supply chain”.

Campaigns to intensify supervision of markets are ongoing, Hammouri said, adding that “the ministry does not aim, through its monitoring tours, to close shops. However, the necessity of providing goods to citizens at reasonable prices at this time is a top priority, and there will be no tolerance for anyone who tries to take advantage of citizens”.

The wholesale price ceilings for the vegetables most in-demand are, per kilogramme: 35 piasters for potatoes, 30 piasters for tomatoes, 40 piasters for cucumbers, 55 piasters for zucchinis, 30 piasters for eggplants and 40 piasters for dry onions.

Last week, retail price ceilings for these vegetables per kilogramme were 45 piasters for potatoes, 40 piasters for tomatoes, 50 piasters for cucumbers, 65 piasters for zucchinis, 40 piasters for eggplants and 50 piasters for dry onions.

It was also mandated that the retail price for two kilogrammes of fresh chicken be set at JD1.40 and for frozen chicken at JD1.70.

The ministry also decided to set price ceilings for packages of eggs holding 30 eggs. According to the decision, the price for 2,000 grammes of table eggs and above is JD2.50 and JD2.25 for less than 2,000 grammes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The ministry announced that it “will not tolerate” merchants’ violations of the price ceilings it sets.