UAE confirms six-month strategic stockpile of essential goods

The United Arab Emirates has announced that it has a six-month strategic stockpile of essential goods, amid the conflict in West Asia.

The country’s Ministry of Economy and Tourism said it has intensified its monitoring efforts at points of sale across markets nationwide to ensure price stability for goods and products and their availability in sufficient quantities to meet consumer needs, particularly considering the current increase in demand for essential consumer goods.

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In a statement released by the official news agency Wam, the ministry explained that monitoring and field inspections are carried out daily by specialised inspection teams.

“This comes as part of close coordination and cooperation with the economic development departments across the country, within a joint national monitoring team that is unifying efforts to prevent unjustified price increases and unsound commercial practices, while enhancing the continuous monitoring of markets across the UAE,” it said.

The ministry also pointed out that there is high-level coordination between the relevant authorities across all Emirates to continuously monitor markets and ensure that points of sale and traders comply with consumer protection legislation and policies, particularly the pricing policy for essential consumer goods.

“This policy covers nine key commodities: cooking oil, eggs, dairy products, rice, sugar, poultry, legumes, bread, and wheat, whose prices cannot be increased without prior approval from the Ministry and the national committee formed for this purpose,” it added.

On the price rise observed in some food commodities, such as onions and tomatoes, over the past two days, the ministry clarified that these increases are temporary and limited, resulting naturally from the effects of the regional crisis.

It confirmed that additional quantities of the commodities that experienced price increases have already been supplied in abundant amounts to ensure a stable supply in the markets.