An online tool launched by the UAE government to track prices of staple foods and help strengthen consumer rights is set to expand after attracting more than 143,000 visits since its launch in April.
The Essential Goods Prices Platform, overseen by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, monitors price changes on 8,343 products at 525 shops operated by 13 major retailers.
It received 143,720 visits between mid-April and the end of July, an average of more than 1,450 visits each day.
What is the Essential Goods Prices Platform?
The Essential Goods Prices Platform tracks price fluctuations of essential goods at supermarkets daily. Nine main categories are listed on the site, including essentials such as rice, eggs and chicken.
Ministry officials say that the platform is not only helping consumers make the right choices, but also protecting their rights.
“The Essential Goods Prices Platform provides an advanced digital tool for monitoring prices and tracking changes in price levels and market movements with greater consistency and accuracy,” said Safeya Al Safi, assistant undersecretary for the Control and Commercial Governance Sector at the Ministry of Economy and Tourism.
“It enables continuous monitoring of market developments, analysis of emerging trends, and identification of patterns or changes that require further review and verification.”
Ms Al Safi said ensuring the availability of essential goods and protecting consumer rights remain national priorities.
The monitoring platform supports efforts such as regular inspection campaigns to ensure fair pricing.
The UAE government took action to protect customers from unjustified price increases after a surge in demand for essentials in the early weeks of the Iran war.
The Ministry of Economy and Tourism carried out more than 7,000 inspections of retailers in the two weeks after the conflict broke out on February 28.
The authority said the clampdown had uncovered 567 breaches, most of which were for unreasonably high prices.
It said at the time it was “intensifying monitoring efforts” to ensure price stability, particularly for nine essential goods: cooking oil, eggs, dairy products, rice, sugar, poultry, legumes, bread and wheat.
The price of these items cannot be raised without approval from the ministry and a national committee set up to assess food costs.
Expansion plans
The ministry will continue to add both retailers and products to the platform, allowing for more comprehensive price comparisons.
This aims to continue helping “respond efficiently” to disturbances in the market and to counter changes in pricing dynamics.
