STO to flood the market with onions, potatoes and eggs

State Trading Organization (STO) has said today that they would supply three times more onions, potatoes and eggs compared to previous years, into the market in Malé, in order to stabilize the prices of these essential food items during the upcoming Ramadan.

Shahid Ali, Managing Director of STO, said that the company would import three shipments of these food items specially for Ramadan. He said that the first of these shipments would arrive tonight, while the second will come on next Wednesday, and the third on the 5th of next month. The said items are some of the basic food items used in the Maldives, and which are all imported. Prices of these items tend to skyrocket during Ramadan, the fasting month of the Islamic calendar year during which demand for food items increase.

“We are importing three times more of these items compared to last year. We have planned to bring one of the shipments during the Ramadan to meet the demand. We have not decided when to bring the first shipment after Ramadan. That will be decided later, based on fluctuations in the market”, Sahid said.

Shahid said that tonight’s shipment would include 1400 boxes of eggs, 8000 sacks of onion and 4000 sacks of potatoes. These goods shall be on shelves next Saturday, he said. “This will stabilize the prices, and we are confident that they will not go up with the beginning of Ramadan”, Shahid added.

Shahid also said that 24 additional food items had also being imported, including margarine, canned food items and cooking oil. He said that these items were already available at the STO supermarket cheaper than their market prices. “Even though these are cheaper than shop prices around Malé, the quality has not been compromised. All those items are tested by their country of origin, and are of good quality”, he assured.

While STO is taking steps to pull down prices of food items, recent devaluation of Maldivian currency against US Dollars and other alleged monetary-and-economic-policy failures, prices of all goods and services, especially food items, have gone up by huge margins. A box of eggs which was sold few months ago for MRF200 now costs MRF500, while, a kilogram of onion now costs MRF25 instead of MRF12 some months ago. The Maldives, which imports but a handful of all kinds of goods from abroad, is in a critical condition, according to many due to uncontrolled and unmanaged inflation.