In every part of the world, most people trying to get by share many of the same concerns: securing safety, health, well-being and that of their loved ones, employment, and being able to afford the price of basic needs – food, rent, electricity, schools, health care, and so on.
With time, however, it is inevitable for the cost of living to rise. This is bound to include an increase in food prices, although by how much depends on various factors, such as demand-supply, governance and political churns, albeit to varying degrees in different countries. It is not a surprise that in this past year, the highest food inflation, according to the database Statistica, was seen in Zimbabwe, Argentina and in the Palestinian territories.
In the UAE, where consumers benefit from economic stability, predictable prices and progressive governance, consumers now have some additional relief when it comes to food prices.
On Tuesday, new measures were announced to bolster price controls on staple foods such as cooking oil, eggs, dairy, rice, sugar, poultry, legumes, bread and wheat. Starting January 2, there is to be a minimum six-month gap between increases of these items, which would protect consumers and ensure affordability.
The new regulation complements other such UAE consumer-protection laws already in place that cap prices for thousands of items. This added measure goes to ensure fairness in pricing and affordability for all.
At a time when global food prices have been at their highest, as of October, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, measures such as these provide an important safety net for everyone.
Broadly speaking, people tend to expect consistency of pricing and are averse to unscrupulous retailers, and price volatility, not least because monthly budgets for many households are often synced with the expected price of provisions and groceries in the coming weeks and months.
And while under this new regulation it appears consumers stand to gain by instances of arbitrary price rise of essential commodities being eliminated, considerable thought has been given to the needs of vendors to run a business profitably. In 2022, the Ministry of Economy had already decreed that a maximum profit margin for suppliers or traders for each commodity would be determined by the Ministry, and that a formal channel would be available for suppliers and traders to submit price-hike requests. Now, starting in the new year, prices, too, can only be raised with approval from the Ministry.
It is also good news for customers to know that the larger shops, with premises exceeding 1,000 square metres, are required to clearly display prices a unit so that people know what they are paying for. This eliminates the unpleasant business of customers potentially being disadvantaged by arbitrarily hiked prices in certain shops, a not altogether unknown phenomenon, and for which violators have been penalised in past years. No one is unfamiliar with fluctuating prices and the experience of a loaf of bread or a whole chicken costing very different sums in different supermarkets or convenience stores.
Transparency and clarity on pricing are important for basic food stuffs, while a wide range of products are left to market variables. Agility and diversification are key components in a dynamic country like the UAE.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
