The Director of the Trade Department in the Ministry, Mustafa Qadara, told our source that: « During this meeting, the mechanism for setting prices, providing basic commodities, and finding a quick solution before the month of Ramadan was discussed. »
He continued by saying: « The crisis is global, and Libya is part of this world, and prices in the world are all high, unprecedentedly due to the Ukrainian-Russian crisis, and we, as a country, are an importer of most commodities from them. »
He also added to his speech: « We sat down today to put in place a mechanism to find an optimal way to price basic commodities or provide them at a price that is affordable for the simple citizen with a low income, as well as controlling the market because the market is really high prices and the commodities have disappeared and these are the most prominent problems. We tried to have price competition between the public and private sectors, but when the merchant hears that the prices have gone up, the goods are stored and hidden from the market, and then come out at high prices, especially in the month of Ramadhan, which some consider as a season for profit. »
According to Qadara, three alternatives were discussed during the meeting, namely cash or commodity support, or that the state is the one that provides the goods and then they are distributed through the Price Stabilization Fund. Now, a working group has been formed, headed by the Minister of Economic Affairs of the Council of Ministers, and it is now the one who will meet and develop optimal solutions.
