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Ammon News -

Foodstuff Traders Association President Khalil Haj Tawfiq said Monday that staple food prices spiked globally, impacting the local market.

He told a press conference that the price hikes were not a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but they began with the deepening of the coronavirus pandemic and low crop production in the countries of origin.

Tawfiq, who is also President of the Amman Chamber of Commerce, said soaring prices included vegetable oils, rice, sugar, coffee, powdered milk, and frozen poultry and red meats and multiple other items, citing indicators by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

He said food imports had not stopped since the Russia-Ukraine crisis, adding that about 58,000 tons of foodstuff arrived in the Kingdom in the past two weeks, and that merchants are keen to import from diverse sources, which offers many alternatives for the consumer.

Tawfiq dismissed suggestions that imposing a price cap is the proper solution to rein in soaring prices, arguing that such measure would "sometimes affect imports." However, he added, malls and commercial centres have a key role to offer sales during the fasting month of Ramadan despite high prices.

He referred to the "unjustified" demand for vegetable oil, adding that the prices of food staples did not see any increases during the last Ramadan.

The world today witnesses an unstable food situation, Tawfiq said, pointing to efforts by the private sector to maintain imports and supplies despite the high risks of purchasing from global markets due to high prices.