Algerians' Consumption of Food Products to Decline by 20% in Ramadan, Union of Traders say

High prices of seasonal fruits will deprive ordinary citizens and those with limited income who get weak wages from diversifying Ramadan table, as the majority decided to consume the frozen meat, which prices will not be less than 500 DA per kilogram, according to the Union of Traders, amid expectations that the consumption will decline during the this season by 20%, due to the expensive prices of food products.

Although the month of Ramadan will coincide with the availability of many kinds of vegetables and fruits, but its prices will remain mixed, due to the decline of fruits’ production and some kinds of vegetables, which increased rapidly, as confirmed by the spokesman for the Federation of Traders, Hadj Taher Boulanouar, who said it will be estimated at 30%, compared to the increasing pace of consumption, which supports the expectation of higher prices during the first week of Ramadan, given the rush of citizens to acquire food how irregular, while the representative for the wholesale markets, Mr. Makhloufi, asserted that the high prices have a clear impact on the pace of consumption, the evidence is the reduced activity of wholesale traders in the recent years. ‬

The same source said, that all consumables will be available throughout the month of Ramadan, while a fluctuation in oil and sugar will be registered during the first week of Ramadan, because of the large demand by the makers of traditional sweets, but without leading to higher prices, adding that the demand will increase on soft drinks and others because of the heat, and the consumption of red and white meat would go down with about 20%, because of their expensive prices that will notice another increase in Ramadan by around 150 AD per kilogram, while the dairy products will be available, calling on citizens to avoid ‭acquisition of‭ ‬products that are sold on sidewalks, because most of them are poisonous‮ ‬and ‭harmful to health. ‬