Rice, flour and milk rates retain previous levels -
By Saleh al Azri -
MUSCAT — Most food commodities maintained their stability in the recent survey of prices conducted by the Public Authority for Consumer Protection in the retail and wholesale stores in Muscat Governorate. The survey indicated the stability of main commodities such as rice, flour and milk at its former levels in the last survey which included the wholesale stores like Thani Habib al Khusaibi, Majd Muttrah, Rawhat Ruwi, the Golden Baskets, Al Amiri shops and Hamoud bin Hamad Al Amiri Shopping Centre. The survey included retail stores like Carrefour, Lulu, Sultan Center, Safeer, KM and Rowasco.
The survey conducted by the Authority on February 18 showed stability of major commodities such as rice, flour, milk, tea, oil and salt at their previous level.
The survey showed stability of rice as prices of basmati Thamer reached at Thani Habib al Khusaibi RO 21.500, 21 at Majd Muttrah, 22 at Rawhat Ruwi and Hamoud bin Hamad al Amri. No data was available from Golden Baskets and Al Ameri Shopping Centre.
Al Madina Rice amounted to RO 22 at Thani Habib al Khusaibi, Majd Muttrah, Golden Baskets and Hamoud bin Hamad al Amri, RO 22.500 at Rawhat Ruwi, no data was available from Al Ameri Shopping Center. Abu Deek Rice reached RO 20 at Thani Habib al Khusaibi, Majd Muttrah, Hamoud bin Hamad Al Amri but no prices were available in Rawhat Ruwi, Golden Baskets and Al Ameri Shopping Center.
Al Dhahabi and Al Khareef flour prices stabilised between RO 1.950 and 2.100, and the imported flour reached RO 2 at Thani Habib al Khusaibi and RO 2.500 at Al Ameri shops. No data available in other stores.
Lipton Tea (400 gm × 24) prices stabilised at RO 31.500 in Thani Habib al Khusaibi, RO 28.800 at Rawhat Ruwi, RO 29 at Golden Baskets and RO 31.200 at Hamoud Hamad al Amri. No data available from Al Ameri Shopping Center or Majd Muttrah, while there was no data available on Lipton Tea (450 gm × 24) at all shops.
Mumtaz tea (450 gm × 24) settled at RO 21.800 in Thani Habib al Khusaibi, RO 22.900 at Rawhat Ruwi and Golden Baskets. Price hits RO 23.600 at Al Ameri Center, but no data was available at Majd Muttrah or Hamoud bin Hamad al Amiri Shopping Centre.
According to the survey conducted by the Authority earlier this week, the price of Al Dhahabi flour ranged between RO 2.100 — RO 1.980 in the stores surveyed. The price of Al Khareef flour ranged between RO 1.930 — RO 1.975 in most shops but no data was available at Carrefour. The imported flour reached RO 2.290 at Carrefour and Lulu but no data was available in other stores.
Lipton Tea (400 gm) hits RO 1.390 in Lulu, Sultan Center, KM and Rawasco, and RO 1.470 at Safeer. Mumtaz Tea settled at RO 1 at all the stores covered by the survey, except at Safeer that provided no data. The price of sugar (2 kg) reached 720 baisa in Carrefour, Lulu and 700 baisa at Rowasco but no data was available in other stores.
Frozen Chicken (Safa 1 kg) reached RO 1.350 in all the shops and Sadia chicken reached RO 1.360. There was no change in prices of other commodities in the shops surveyed by the General Authority of Consumer Protection on February 18.
To make it easier for consumers, they can lodge complaints at the head office of Complaints Department in the headquarters of the Public Authority for Consumer Protection in Muscat in addition to nine other departments of consumer protection in various governorates.
There are four mechanisms for lodging complaints which are through the call centre, fax, visiting the headquarters of the Authority or through the new website of the Authority which is under construction now.
The Complaints Department will deal firmly with cases involving fraud, goods trafficking and services that would harm the safety of people and property. The Department also seeks to develop mechanisms that will seek to resolve most complaints.
By working on a new project to protect consumers and provide a greater legal protection to them, the Complaints Department will be able to perform its functions to undertake missions effectively and meet the aspirations and expectations of consumers.
