ALGIERS- Faced with the spike in the prices of certain consumer products which has impacted on the purchasing power of citizens, the Ministry of Commerce indicated the rise observed at the national level was due to several external factors, announcing that it had taken several urgent measures to fight against speculation and to break the monopoly on the national market.
It should be noted that the rise in the prices of a large number of products, such as food, industrial food products, has taken a ascending curve which considerably reduced the purchasing power of the Algerian consumer.
In this regard, Sami Kolli, DG of the regulation and organization of markets at the Ministry of Commerce affirmed, on national radio, that “several control measures have been taken to fight against all forms of speculation, in addition to work towards bringing the product closer to the consumer by allowing farmers to market their products in wholesale or retail spaces ”.
In this vein, the same official revealed that 1,800 interventions were carried out in markets and stores, resulting in the recording of more than 50 violations related to monopoly and speculation on price.
For example, the prices of pasta have doubled from 40 DA per 500 gram packet to 75 dinars. The kilo of couscous, one of the most consumed dishes in Algeria, went from 80 DA to 170 DA, for the same period of comparison.
