The Kuwaiti Commerce and Industry Ministry announced yesterday that companies selling 367 products are to face the public prosecution for unjustified price increases. The products concerned include rice, vegetable and cooking oils, frozen poultry, cheeses, and liquid and powder milk, head of the consumer protection department at the ministry Mansour Al-Nazhan said. This comes after a study conducted last week on the prices of 811 products, he said.
The study’s first phase was conducted on food items since they are vital for consumers and the prices of other products will be studied in the next phases, he added.
The ministry is exerting enormous effort to accomplish the project soon to protect the interests of consumers, he stressed. The study, completed in a record time of five days, revises the costs of production, shipping, and transfer and also consists of a section on legal issues based on law 10/79 on the supervision on prices, he pointed out.
Al-Nazhan said that article 14 of the law states that all those who unjustifiably increase prices shall be imprisoned for not less than three months and not more than three years and shall be fined not less than KD 2,000 and not more than KD 10,000, or punished with one of these penalties.
The third part of the study discusses official data from government and private bodies in and outside Kuwait, he said. He pointed out that those working on the study noticed that the prices of products varied in different cooperative societies, emphasizing that all violators of the law will be punished.
The official thanked those participating in the study, especially legal researcher Iman Mujib Al-Ajmi, for their efforts. As the second phase of the study, the consumer protection department is reviewing the prices in restaurants and cafes. The results of the next phase will be ready by the end of this week and will be announced to the consumers.
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