NT Bureau
DOHA: Local vegetables account for 80 percent of the product quantities offered in the central market at Sailiya, which has contributed to achieving a balance in the prices of vegetables, Arabic media have reported.
Several shoppers said that prices of products offered at Sailiya market are affordable, especially local products, with the exception of imported onions, whose prices have soared, with a 20-kg bag of imported onions selling at 90 riyals for the first time.
Citizens called on the authorities to tighten control over some sellers who manipulate the prices to achieve higher profits.
Speaking to Al Raya newspaper, they also called for the provision of sufficient parking lots and shopping carts in light of the growth of the central market and the increasing number of customers.
Fahd Al Marri said that he lives in the Umm Salal area, and that he used to shop every month at the Al Sailiya Central Market for vegetables and fruits for the family’s needs, pointing out that citizens search for the Qatari product because he trusts in the quality of Qatari agricultural products.
He said there is a big difference in the prices between the central market and the malls, as the malls sell by the kilo, while in the market it’s sold by the box, which saves a lot of cost for shoppers.
Ibrahim Mohammed Al Kuwari told Al Raya newspaper that he believes that there is a shortage in the number of parking spaces allocated for customers, which forces shoppers to wait a long time until they get a parking spot.
He said: “A huge part of the parking lots are used by merchants and sellers where they park their cars and they remain occupied all the time, while there are supposed to be special parking spaces for sellers and trade separate from the parking lots of shoppers.”
A shopper said some sellers manipulate product types and display some imported agricultural products as Qatari products, knowing that Qatari agricultural products have a higher price and are in greater demand among citizens due to their high quality.
