October 12, 2008

Omani government takes measures to control steel prices

Oman Daily quoted Me Ahmed bin Hassan al Dheeb under secretary at commerce & industry ministry as saying that the ministry took measures to control playing with prices of steel.

Mr Al Dheeb said that the ministry asked the main supplier of steel in Oman to give a periodic list of names and quotas of traders whom the supplier provides with steel.

He added that the ministry's inspectors will keep an alert eye on prices and check whether the traders have sold the quotas to consumers or kept them in their warehouses to sell them later to make use of price difference.

He said that "We have also asked the supplier to raise the quotas sold to individual consumers to cut down the margin of profit paid by the ordinary consumer while buying the commodity."

He added that the import of steel is open for all traders, without customs tariff.