Doha, September 07 (QNA) - The Ministry of Economy and Commerce said Wednesday that it implemented cabinet decision no.24 for 2016 which exempts some of the commodities from provisions of law no. 8 of 2002 regulating the work of commercial agents. The ministry informed those agents that it removed 35 food and consumer products from the records of commercial agents.
The law basically prevents a number of food and consumer products to be owned by a particular commercial agent. The ministry has already informed the General Authority of Customs of a list of around 420 commercial agencies whose monopoly for importing these products has been scrapped.
The ministry also coordinated with the state's outlets in order to carry out the decision which aims to improve the market's competitiveness and lower the prices.
The cabinet decision no. 24 for 2016 came on the back of a study which revealed that the food and consumer products in question were in the hands of a small number of agents. The study also noted that, in some instances, one agent would hold the right to importing different brands that were meant to compete in the market and not complement one another. Such practices prevented the prices from falling and did not provide the incentive for agents to improve the service they offered to consumers.
The decision will also allow traders who did not have rights to import these products, to do so now which will enhance the market competitiveness and lower prices.