Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri yesterday revealed that the prices of basic foods would not be lowered further as they had already been fixed at targeted levels.
"Prices are down to a reasonable level and are controlled, so no more steps will be taken at the moment. We have done a wonderful job with regard to food price controls – an excellent job.
"The stand taken by the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with various outlets has resulted in falls in the cost of many food items in the past few months.
"This has helped us to improve relationships, especially with co-operative societies, and to come up with more ways and systems to control prices."
Al Mansouri said there was nothing normal about current economic conditions and it was impossible to make predictions.
"We are not in normal circumstances and the media should understand that we don't have all the answers. We have set up a system and the system is very transparent in terms of identifying challenges as we go on. It is not a time to sit and watch, you have to act and find a solution."
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