No price increase to ration card commodities - Commerce Ministry

KUWAIT, Jan 18 (KUNA) -- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry dismissed as baseless the circulated reports about a surge in the price of ration card commodities.
"There is no rise in price of any of the ration card commodities," the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for Control and Consumers' Protection Abdullah Al-Enezi told KUNA on Sunday.
"The rumors circulated on social networks about increasing the price or even stopping supply of children milk, given through ration cards, are totally untrue," He confirmed that the government is committed to supply citizens with subsidized basic food supplies.
He explained that the recent decree by Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Abdulmohsen Al-Medaij about ration card commodities and particularly the children milk included reducing the prices of some kinds of milk, increasing the quantity given to each individual and changing the commercial name of others. He stressed that the decree has nothing to do with price rise.
The ministry is keen on improving the quality of the products it distributes through the ration cards, he said, adding that the Ministry is always ready to reply and deal seriously with any query, complaint or suggestion regarding customer protection.
He noted that the Minister Al-Medaij issued a ministerial decree to increase by 50 percent the quantity long life milk given to each citizen to reach nine liters monthly with a view to increasing people's consumption of milk due to its nutrition benefits.
The Kuwaiti government spends no less than KD 100 million (USD 340 million) annually to support staple food. (end) smr.tb.lb