DOHA: A number of key Qatari businessmen have identified what they say is unchecked price rise as a major woe facing them, the national economy and society as a whole.
In an informal discussion held at the residence of a senior Qatar Chamber office-bearer recently on contemporary social and economic issues, businessmen said the government must step in and check the galloping inflation.
A major trigger factor for the general price rise is real estate becoming expensive literally by the day, businessmen said.
The discussion was held at the majlis (living room) of Mohamed bin Ahmed Tawar Al Kuwari, vice-chairman of Qatar Chamber, representative body of the private sector.
The participants asked Al Kuwari as to what he thought was the major issue that was facing the business community in particular, and he said without hesitation that it was inflation.
Joining in the debate, Hamad Sammaan Al Hajri, a businessman, said that soaring prices of real estate meant that limited-income people were unable to buy land for their children or to make houses.
In Doha, the rate per square foot had reached incredibly high levels to between a 1,000 and 1,500 riyals. In areas outside of the capital city, the rate had gone up to QR500 per square foot, said Al Hajri.
Businessman Mohamed Ahmed Al Obaidly said that the galloping inflation was mainly a result of rising real estate prices.
And real estate rates are rising because of high demand. There is a severe shortage of developed land for commercial and residential use and that is responsible for the price rise, said Al Obaidly.
He said the government should develop land in different areas of the country for residential and commercial use and that would help bring the prices down.
According to him, soaring rents are responsible for commodity prices going up. There is a chain reaction. If a wholesaler raises the price of a commodity, the retailer follows suit.
The state-run Consumer Protection Department (CPD) of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce should intervene and check the price rise. “It has the legal authority to do that so it must play its part,” said Al Obaidly.
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