Consumers in Abu Dhabi complained of a severe shortage of gloves for "one-time use" in large and small outlets, coinciding with the obligation of consumers to wear it with a muzzle, as a condition for entering many facilities as part of precautionary measures to limit the spread of the new Corona virus.
And showed a tour of «Emirates Today», many of the outlets are free of gloves and the presence of a small number of glove packages in small groceries, sold at high prices at rates exceeding 60% of the original price.
For their part, officials in sales outlets said that the quantity of gloves offered is limited and does not meet the needs of all consumers, especially that some consumers buy large quantities of them, which leads to their depletion quickly, adding that there is an increase in the prices of some brands due to the lack of supply and high shipping rates Raw materials and imported product, and increasing global demand.
Running out of gloves
In detail, the consumer, Saif Muhammad, said that he had been searching for a week for “disposable gloves” as a result of the near depletion of the gloves available to him, but he did not find them in many large sales outlets and small groceries, demanding the provision of gloves, given the requirement of many places to wear them, and on the head Commercial centers and sales outlets.
The consumer, Khaled Eid, added that he has been searching for several days for gloves for one-time use in large outlets and its branches and small groceries, but he did not find gloves of any kind, indicating that he found their places completely empty in outlets, as he found other commodities in place in outlets Another, when asked by the port officials, confirmed they had run out.
He pointed out that he finally found gloves at one of the groceries near his home, at a price of 30 dirhams instead of the previous price of 18 dirhams, an increase of more than 60%, pointing out that he had to buy them at the aforementioned price as a result of the requirement to wear gags in many places.
The consumer, Fatima Hassan, said that she searched for gloves for several days to no avail, and finally found her in a grocery store for a price of 28 dirhams, after she had previously bought it at 17 dirhams, an increase of more than 64%.
limited quantity
For his part, the sales official at a sales outlet, Ismail Starr, said, "The quantity of gloves offered is limited and does not meet the needs of all consumers, especially as consumers buy several boxes of them, which leads to their depletion quickly."
"There is already a rise in the prices of some types of gloves, but the grocers do not bear the responsibility for the high prices," added the salesperson in one of the small groceries, Salem Baharzad, explaining that these are the supply prices with the usual profit rate for the grocery. He pointed out that «consumers inquire about gloves, but there is a shortage, although we have requested more than once large quantities of them».
Rising prices
For his part, a supply officer in one of the companies, (AS), who preferred not to be named, said, "There is an increase in the prices of some types of gloves, coinciding with the lack of supply, the high freight rates for raw materials, the imported product and the increase in global demand." The coming period will witness the entry of new orders, as the production capacity of the local product increases to cover the market needs.
The “economy” of “consumers”: they bought it in the morning
"Gloves are available at the sales outlets," the director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy said, calling on consumers to buy them from the outlets in the morning. He pointed to the possibility that the number set by the ports will be limited, and consequently, the shelves will run out early, with the demand increasing significantly.
And that the past period witnessed closings, fines and warnings for a number of sales outlets that raise the prices of commodities, especially commodities for which there is a large increase in demand for them currently, as a result of the repercussions of the "new corona". He called on consumers to send complaints to the Ministry to investigate the reasons for the rise and take the necessary measures regarding the party causing the price rise.
The coming period will witness the entry of new orders as the production capacity of the local product increases.