THRIFTY SHOPPERS ON CONSTANT HUNT FOR BARGAINS AS FOOD BILLS ROCKET
▶ Global high inflation means bruised fruit, bulk buying and items near their sell-by date are the order of the day
The rising cost of living around the world has made it difficult for many to afford basic goods and services. Crop failures and soaring energy prices are all contributing to rising inflation as millions struggle to make ends meet.
Since January, The National has been tracking the prices of food staples in supermarkets across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in India, the UK and US to see how consumers have been affected.
Many shoppers have become canny, searching for discounts and cutting spending as higher prices affect their buying habits.
In several countries in the Middle East, governments monitor the cost of essential items to check inflation.
But households say they are feeling the pinch as prices rise, stretching their salaries and putting pressure on weekly shopping lists.
Shoppers have begun seeking out offers, buying in bulk and keeping an eye on consumption as they try to balance their budgets.
Verodiana Rodrigues, 55, a former Dubai schoolteacher, shops at various places depending on the offers available on specific days.
She buys slightly bruised fruit and vegetables rejected by other shoppers and uses an app offering bargains on group purchases, reducing her bill.
“It does not matter what the fruit looks like as long as it tastes good,” said Ms Rodrigues. “I have learnt to pick what I need.
“When you go to a big supermarket, greed takes over need and you feel you have to buy more.”
A financial consultant by day, she also sells speciality cuisine from India’s Goa state in her spare time.
Her weekly household shopping bill is usually less than Dh15 when she uses WeGotWe, an online platform that offers discounts when friends or family place orders together.
Users collect the goods themselves and pickup locations can be the home of a neighbour who uses the same service.
Shopping smart fills her basket with onions priced below Dh1.50 a kilogram, tomatoes under Dh2 and 500g of carrots for 99 fils. Ms Rodrigues said being prudent has always been important even before the school she worked for closed in 2019.
“It’s not just because I lost my job,” she said.
“I’m a person who believes that if I save, I can use the money for something else.”
Yasmin Khoury cuts costs by buying products near their sellby date from Baqer Mohebi, a shop known for its low prices.
“There are brands you may have never heard of and it does not have great variety but it’s all good quality” she said.
“I buy in bulk and freeze.
It could be fresh chicken or shrimp, and I turn tomatoes into paste for use later.”
Last year, the UAE government introduced price controls on essential items including cooking oil, fresh milk, rice, sugar, bread, flour, cleaning detergent and lentils.
In February, authorities allowed a temporary increase in the price of eggs and poultry in response to higher production costs.
For Aabgina Khan, 45, a mother of three who looks after a large family in a nine-bedroom Dubai villa, inflation is educational.
“I love cooking and I cook for 20 people every day,” she said. “I order ketchup, rice or sugar in bulk.”
Ms Khan drives her younger children to school but no longer drops her daughter off at college in Internet City, insisting the teenager takes the metro.
The UAE raised fuel prices for the second month in a row in March, although there was a reduction this month.
“She is very upset and there is a daily argument when she asks why I can’t pick up and drop her,” Ms Khan said. “I give her money to take an Uber or eat food.
“I tell her it’s a waste of money to drop her. Kids today are used to everything easy. I want her to learn. We were raised to be responsible, so should the next generation.”
While fuel prices in Jordan have not fluctuated wildly this year, there was a sharp rise since 2020, particularly for diesel, the fuel that powers the agricultural sector.
Diesel prices have risen 66 per cent since 2020 to $1.10 a litre, while petrol rose 42 per cent to $1.30 over the same period.
A surge in fuel prices last year led to violent protests in December, mainly in southern Jordan.
A fuel tax of 52 cents a litre of petrol and 23 cents a litre of diesel remains a burden on consumers.
Youssef, a farmer in Jerash, north of Amman, said fuel prices squeeze the meagre margin he makes from ploughing the land for other farmers and tending to olive groves that belong to Jordanians living overseas. “Running costs have gone up massively because of the diesel price rises,” said Youssef, who owns a tractor and a pickup.
“There is no other option in Jordan except to use diesel for lorries. Even if there was, I cannot afford changing the vehicles I own.”
An International Monetary Fund report in January estimated inflation in Jordan was 4.4 per cent last year, compared with 1.3 per cent in 2021.
Despite a rise in prices, inflation “remains moderate and should ease in the period ahead”, the report said.
“With elevated unemployment and commodity prices, social conditions remain challenging,” it said.
Some shoppers in Saudi Arabia have stopped buying expensive items in favour of low-cost alternatives as they feel the cost of living pressure.
“Prices of everything have been going up,” said Talal Qureishi, shopping for a family of four at Danube, a mid-range supermarket in Jeddah.
The family’s breadwinner, Mr Qureishi changed shopping habits to control spending.
“We cut down a great deal on exotic fruits, imported drinks, like no more fancy cola,” he said. “We have switched to cheaper alternatives.
“One has to be mindful when buying groceries a lot more than, say, five years ago.”
In July, the Saudi government allocated 10 billion riyals ($2.66 billion) to counter the impact of global price rises by supporting stocks of wheat and barley and lending to the private sector to purchase corn and soybeans for six months.
Ruwaina A, who lives alone, was thankful bread, milk and yoghurt were subsidised.
Four pieces of pitta bread costs one Saudi riyal and a small container of yoghurt is capped at two riyals.
Her monthly salary no longer goes as far as it did with the 5 per cent VAT introduced in 2018.
“I realised my accounts weren’t making sense so I started to do the maths,” she said. “I am very careful shopping now.”