LuLu to sell 32 items at 2007 prices

LuLu to sell 32 items at 2007 prices
(By a staff reporter)KHALEEJ TIMES 7 April 2008

ABU DHABI — LuLu Hypermarket has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Economy fixing the prices of 32 essential food items at 2007 levels as a measure to help curb spiralling inflation.

The food articles, prices of which have been fixed at the 2007 rates, are listed in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which gauges the rise and fall of inflation.

These daily-use items included various types of rice, sugar, oil, flour, tea, butter, salt, milk and its products, tomato paste, legumes, chicken, meat, cheese, eggs, macaroni, water and bread.

The MoU with LuLu, which aims to stabilise prices, curb inflation, maintain market balance and protect consumers, comes only weeks after signing a similar agreement with the Union Cooperative Society in Dubai to maintain the 2007 prices of 16 basic food commodities. Other cooperative societies have also responded positively to the ministry’s request to sell many of their goods at cost prices.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, and Youseffali, managing director of LuLu Hypermarket Group, signed the MoU at the ministry’s office in Dubai.

Al Mansouri praised the supermarket chain for being the first company to implement the programme.

“The initiative by Lulu Hypermarket to fix the prices of 32 food commodities emphasises the vital role the private sector can play in contributing to price stability, maintaining market equilibrium and contributing effectively to the development of society and the national economy,” Al Mansouri said.

The minister also highlighted how the initiative underscored the social responsibility of the UAE’s private sector, under the directives and leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who both acknowledge the role of the private and public sectors in advancing the country’s social and economic progress. He added that the ministry would continue to work in collaboration with other bodies to control monopoly, exploitation, and other threats to market stability.

He said this was not the responsibility of the MoE alone, but a joint responsibility of both federal and local authorities.

Youseffali said that as part of its commitment to the society and to eliminate forces that threaten free competition, the group responded quickly to the MoE’s call. He urged the private sector to not only focus on profits, pointing out that inflation is a danger to both the society and the economy.