Algeria: “Venal lobbies behind renewed price hikes in basic commodities during Ramadhan”

The government has again dismally failed in its endeavour to set a firm ceiling in the price of staple commodities including sugar and cooking oil on account of the unbridled monopolistic and speculative practices by certain venal lobbies at the onset of the holy month of fasting of Ramadhan.

• As a result, the price of sugar on the national market has now exceeded 100 dinars per kilogram while the price of 5 litres of cooking oil initially set by the government at no more than 600 dinars, has now reached 620 dinars.
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• This sudden price hike in government-subsidized basic foodstuffs has sparked the deep discontent of the Algerian consumers who are at a loss in the face of such blameworthy practices by indomitable lobbies which seem to hold sway on the market at will and in all impunity.
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• The consumers, especially the low-income earners, are eagerly waiting for the swift and forceful intervention of the relevant authorities to remedy the situation by stabilizing food prices on the national market and taking punitive sanctions, if need be, against all those venal offenders whose thirst for easy money is boundless.
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