Bahrain traders urge cap on display goods cost
Manama, June 23, 2014
Traders want to impose a cap on the amount it costs to display goods in supermarkets in Bahrain.
The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) wants to lower shelf rental fees, the amount it costs to put new products on the shelves and the percentage that supermarkets take from the sale of goods, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
Details of the initiative were outlined during yesterday's meeting of food retailers at the BCCI in Sanabis.
The idea is to support Bahraini suppliers of large supermarkets.
Ceiling
"We want to put a price ceiling for them rather than keep it open for anyone to do what they want," said BCCI executive board member and food and agriculture committee chairman Khalid Al Amin.
"If you have a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) like water that you want to put in a supermarket, there is a fee of BD100 ($265) just to enter and barcode it.
"Then you also have the rebate of total gross sales, which means you have to pay three or four per cent too.
"Renting a shelf (in a supermarket) can be high with some shelves being rented for BD200 and BD300, which goes up especially during Ramadan.
Decision
"We are trying to contain this and put a price ceiling on this. We have asked the ministries to come up with a ceiling, maybe in a month or two we will see it happen by ministerial decision."
Industry and Commerce Ministry Standard and Consumer Protection Assistant Under-Secretary Dr Abdulla Ahmed said the idea would be studied seriously.
"The listing prices will be discussed in the ministry," he said.
"We are taking it seriously. We receive complaints about this issue in every meeting." - TradeArabia News Service
