KUWAIT CITY, April 20, (Agencies): Board Chairman of the union of Kuwaiti foodstuff distributors and importers Abdullah Al-Beijan said Wednesday that the union is keen on protecting consumers against any exploitation from greedy merchants and traders amid the skyrocketing food prices.

Speaking to KUNA, Beijan said Kuwaiti traders take into consideration consumers and their burdens when they set the prices of their products.
But he admitted that the food prices are going up on global markets.

He listed a number of factors for this steadily growth of food prices including bad weather in cereals producing countries, the ban imposed by some countries on food exports and the increasing use of cereals to producing bio-fuel.

The world food stocks drop had also negatively impacted food prices, he added.
Beijan went on to say that, “as the recent World Bank report forecasted new food price rises, major world countries ought to agree on a charter to subsidize agricultural sectors all over the world to help increase production and curb price rises”.

In its “Food Price Watch” report, the World Bank forecasted 36 percent-rise in food prices to remain close to the 2008 peak.

Meanwhile, the Cooperative Societies Union has rejected the request of some merchants to increase the prices of basic commodities like infant formula milk, reports Al-Rai daily quoting Head of the Price Control Committee at the union Abdulaziz Al-Samhan.

Al-Samhan disclosed the merchants demanded 15-50 percent price hike on certain commodities but the union disapproved the request.  He said the committee also fixed the prices for 750 items from March 14 to April 14 to ease the financial burdens of citizens and expatriates.  He also slammed a major manufacturer of infant formula milk for threatening to stop the supply of 23 products if its request is not granted.