April 6, 2012

Jordan's consumer protection society considering local dairy boycott

The Consumer Protection Society (CPS) in Jordan is considering la boycott against local dairy products, citing recent price increase.

CPS President, Mohammad Obeidat, said Wednesday that the prices of dairy products have seen "unjustified" hikes in recent years, alleging that factories recently decided to increase the prices of their products and blame higher electricity costs.

"After the government decided not to raise electricity tariffs, factories resorted to other excuses to justify their decision, using for example the increase in milk prices," Obeidat told The Jordan Times yesterday, adding that the CPS is looking into the possibility of launching a campaign to boycott dairy products manufactured locally if factory owners insist on increasing prices.

"There is a mess in the local food market and traders decide to hike prices every now and then," the consumer advocate said, adding it has become a necessity to establish a neutral government body to protect consumers.

Accusing the industry and trade ministry of failing to protect consumers from rising food prices, Obeidat called on the ministry to speed up conducting a study on the real costs of manufacturing dairy products.

Meanwhile, owners of dairy factories said that production costs have gone up recently due to increasing minimum wages from JOD150 (US$211) per month to JOD190 (US$267) in addition to increases in raw material prices and rising demand for fresh milk by cheese manufacturers, according to the industry and trade ministry.

A statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times Wednesday said that Hassouni Mheilan, director of the ministry's market control department, had held a meeting with factory owners to discuss the issue of production costs.

Mheilan indicated that authorities would conduct a study on current production costs, urging factories that hiked prices of dairy products to reconsider their decision.

According to the ministry, only three factories out of 13 have raised the prices of their products.