Prices of 44% of listed food items in UAE start to decline

Prices of fish, dairy and other foodstuffs in the UAE have started to decline to match a reversal of surging global prices of crude oil and other commodities because of the economic crisis, official figures showed yesterday.

The decline in the prices of 44 per cent of the food items included in the index of the Abu Dhabi Department of Planning and Economy (DPE) coincided with expectations that inflation in the UAE and other Gulf oil heavyweights is beginning to recede after three years of rapid rise due to the economic boom, weakening US dollar and other factors.

The index showed the prices of 12 per cent of the more than 50 items stabilised, while the rest registered mild rises following months of price growth caused by soaring global prices and the dirham peg.

Although the index covers prices in Abu Dhabi, experts said it also reflects the price trend in the UAE given the relatively small local price gap. "According to the index, the prices of 44 per cent of the listed items declined while there was a relative stability in the prices of 12 per cent of items and a slight increase in prices of the rest," DPE said in a report.

Dairy products recorded the largest decline, with Bulgarian cheese plunging by nearly 18 per cent from Dh23.5 per kilo in the last week of November to Dh19.35 in the third week of December, DPE's weekly CPI showed. Fish prices dropped by 0.7-3.1 per cent during the same period, it said.

Prices of some fruits tumbled by seven per cent to 16 per cent while those of many vegetables also declined.

DPE gave no reason for the decline in food prices, but experts cited the Department's attempts to control prices, a series of agreements signed this year between the Ministry of Economy and major marketing outlets.