CAIRO: Egypt is in the midst of a battle over information pertaining to alleged rises and cuts to food costs during the current holy month of Ramadan. Local media is currently clashing over conflicting official reports issued by the Consumer Protection body and reports by Chambers' of Commerce over the prices of food commodities in the market during the month of Ramadan as compared to last year. A statement issued Thursday noted a study conducted by the Consumer Protection Association has shown a clear decline in the average prices of most food commodities. 13 food products have recorded a significant decline in commodity prices in retail outlets, including various types of edible oils at a decline of 38 percent, flour 25 percent, natural and manufactured butter, packaged beans 17 percent, eggs 24 percent, meat 12 percent, poultry 4 percent, white cheese two percent and milk at one percent. However, the same survey showed higher rates for sauces at 18 percent, pasta 2 percent, packaged lentils at one percent and reported the stability of sugar prices. Saeed Al-Alfy, head of the Consumer Protection body said that “the decline in prices goes in line with the trend of the state and the actions taken to respond to the global recession of the prices, as well as the movements of the Ministry of Trade and Industry to encourage producers to take into account the rights of the consumer and tighten control of harmful practices and to stimulate fair competition to serve the consumer.” A similar report issued by the Chambers' of Commerce revealed the stability of prices of most strategic goods in Ramadan, while prices of detergents, especially powder, continued to rise, surpassing peak levels recorded last year. The report pointed out that the declines in prices, especially of strategic goods, “is very small and prices for most strategic commodities still above levels recorded last year.” The consumer protection body noted to the large gap in the prices of goods between the consumer associations and supermarket chains, including the high-end Alfa and Metro markets, which have continued to increase prices despite government cuts. **reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM
