Monday Column: Ramadan inflation

Another inflation in Ramadan as shops increase their prices taking advantage of the demands of shoppers.

These price hikes have no justification at all but traders find it irresistible not to put up the prices of everything, especially food. We are fasting all day and they know we need to eat in the evening. They also know we need to buy food no matter what the prices are.

I knew it would happen that is why I made a note of the prices of essential food a week before the start of Ramadan. Some of the items, notable meat, fish and chicken, have gone up by as much as 20 percent in most shops, including the supermarkets.

That may leave some people out of pocket this month. The extra expenses are eating into their wallets as shopkeepers rub their hands as they see their tills fill up more quickly than in normal months. In one of the biggest supermarkets in town, I found a young couple turning a food item several times checking the price sticker.

The man almost shouted when he said “look at the price of this.” His wife looked at the item with wide eyes, then shrugged her shoulders, took the item from her husband and dropped it into the trolley. What else could she do?

They need to eat after sunset, expensive or not. They pushed the trolley to another shelf, the husband was mumbling angrily. Every time the wife picked a food item, he checked the price and hissed under his breath. I had to smile at myself but it is not funny.

Ramadan is about the month of worship, help each people and do good deeds. But the shop owners pay no heed to all that. All they want is to dig into the pockets of shoppers. Religious sentiments have no meaning to them. As a matter of fact, they find huge benefits in it.

But as Ramadan moves forward, other shopkeepers will jump into the price hike bandwagon. The cloths merchant will also want to get into our wallets deeper than in normal months. That is the time when we prepare for the Eid days when we look for something new to wear.

Shopkeepers say that that logistics, delays and shipping are increasing prices during the month of Ramadan though we do not see any evidence of it. It is just the excuse they use to profit from shoppers in this blessed period.

I wonder why the mosque preachers do not include price hikes in their sermons in this holy month. It is very much part of the “blessings of God” they preach during the month to stop food prices soaring. The same question goes to government inspectors to check on prices of food in shops.

Where are they? Why do they allow unjustified inflation to hit our pockets in the holy month? We need these inspectors to do their job and regularly make quick price checks in shops as part of their duties. The reason it happens every Ramadan is because the inspectors do not do their job as they should.

In conclusion, market monitoring must be strengthening to enforce transparency in prices and a swift action must be taken against violators.