The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has put a cap on the prices of more than 400 consumer products from today until the end of Ramadan.
This is the second initiative of a series of projects by the MEC to mark the holy month under the theme “Aqal Min Al Wajeb”, the Arabic for “the least we can do”.
“The initiative comes within the framework of the ministry’s efforts over the past few years to ease the burden on consumers shopping for goods during the holy month,” a statement issued by the ministry said.
A list of more than 400 subsidised goods is attached to the ministerial Decision Number (2) of 2016, which is effective until the end of Ramadan.
Among the commodities included on the list are flour, sugar, rice, pasta, oil, milk and other food and non-food items.
The prices of some of the edible items are as follows: Al Marai Fresh Milk (F/F) 2L QR10, Al Rawabi Full Cream Yoghurt 6 cups x170 grams QR4.50, 5kg QFM Flour No-1 QR16, 1.8 L Noor Sunflower Oil QR17.50, Rainbow 397 grams condensed milk QR4.75, QFM macaroni 400 grams QR1.75, 1.1kg Doux frozen whole chicken QR12 and 750 grams Kelloggs corn flakes QR17.25.
The ministry stressed that it would not tolerate any violation of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations and would intensify its inspection campaign to crack down on violations.
The  ministry also said it would refer those who violated laws and ministerial decrees to competent authorities, who would, in turn, take action against perpetrators in
order to protect consumer rights.
Consumers have been advised to report violations to the Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud department through the following channels:  Call Centre: 16001, e-mail: info@mec.gov.qa, the accounts of the ministry on social networks - Twitter MEC_QATAR, Instagram MEC_QATAR and the application of the MEC on iPhone and Android devices MEC_QATAR .
Earlier, the MEC had unveiled a variety of initiatives to mark the holy month, within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to provide community-oriented services, designed to cover all aspects of the ministry’s activities in terms of organisation, partnership and support.
These initiatives include sheep subsidies and price reductions on consumer goods in addition to the organisation of a number of awareness forums and campaigns on trade in Islam and “Halal livelihood” programme on the ministry’s YouTube channel.
The ministry will also launch the “Iktisadi” bank card campaign as well as several other steps to boost the productivity of bakeries and regulate the sale of gold and jewellery, the statement added.
Al Meera Consumer Goods Company (QSC) has also announced the launch of its Ramadan offer, under which 1,437 consumer goods will be available at cost price.
Patrons of 35 Al Meera branches, in addition to Geant Hypermarket, will get the opportunity to purchase - at cost price - 1,437 “high-quality products that have been carefully selected to cater to the specific needs of shoppers in the holy month”.
In a statement, Al Meera stressed that the campaign came as part of its commitment to offer the best to consumers and honour the country’s social and cultural values.