The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has vowed to crack down on unjustified price
hikes for essentials, local newspaper Gulf News reported.
A statement released by the Ministry of Economy on Wednesday was quoted as saying that the ministry will conduct daily follow-ups on price monitoring and urged consumers to report any unjustified price hike.
"The Ministry of Economy cautions all suppliers and salespeople of immediate effective penalties against any unjustified price increases," the statement said.
The ministry had recommended two weeks before setting up an early-warning system to monitor price shifts of basic commodities and avoid any crisis related to unusual fluctuations in consumer
prices in the country.
It was reported earlier that the Ministry of Health had rejected a demand by drug distributors to increase profit margins on some medicines by 14 percent.