The Competition and Economic Research Directorate at the Ministry of Trade and Export Development has established a special supervisory program for Ramadan 2024, aimed at ensuring the regularity of the supply of various food items and combating monopolies, speculation, and price hikes.
Houssam Tawiti, the Director of Competition and Economic Research, stated to the Tunis Africa News Agency that the general supervisory program started its first phase on February 15th and will continue until March 10th, 2024.
It was noted that the focus in the period leading up to Ramadan will be on monitoring monopolistic storage operations and monitoring transportation activities on roads to direct supply towards organized channels. Interventions will also be made at wholesale distribution outlets and industrial stores to ensure that production and distribution operations comply with established procedures, particularly regarding excessive storage leading to monopolistic practices.
The spokesperson added that a special supervisory program has been implemented during Ramadan, focusing on monitoring cells within bustling markets at both wholesale and retail levels.
Additionally, economic monitoring teams will focus on agricultural, fishing, and subsidized food products during the first half of the fasting month. Subsequently, the supervisory work will be expanded to include other sectors related to changes in consumer behavior, such as entertainment spaces, cafes, and Eid essentials like dried fruits, clothing, and toys.
It’s worth noting that the economic monitoring apparatus faces a severe shortage of monitoring agents, given the density of the organized commercial fabric in Tunisia, which comprises over 400,000 retail points in addition to unorganized and marginal sales points.