AKEED, Osama Rawajfeh

On Friday evening, 26 January 2018, the Cabinet announced its decision to start implementing new bread prices as of Saturday, 27 January. It published the decision along with a list, showing bread prices in six Arab countries. The list was republished by media outlets with the aim of promoting the decision, which was implemented a few days before its scheduled date on 1 February.

The list included some accurate figures of bread prices in these countries and other inaccurate figures, which are lower than the real prices of bread. Meanwhile, some other figures differed completely from the price at which bread is sold to citizens, such as in Egypt.

AKEED has monitored bread prices in the countries on the government list based on questions addressed to citizens and consumers. The price of 1 kg of bread in the UAE was 55 piasters; Saudi Arabia, 35 piasters; and Iraq, 58 piasters, as the list stated. However, the price was higher in Palestine at 84 piasters, and not 60, and in Lebanon 71 piasters, and not 48.

As for a country like Egypt, the figure on the government list of the price of bread was 35 Jordanian piasters. This is untrue as the price of 1 kg of bread, which is still subsidized by the government, is two Jordanian piasters only, around half an Egyptian pound (one loaf is sold for five Egyptian piasters and 1 kg is 10 loaves), according to the latest decision by the Egyptian government at the end of July 2017.

The government list confused the price of Egyptian bread that is subsidized with the bread that is not subsidized. Unsubsidized bread is sold at one pound for a loaf and 10 pounds for 1 kg, which is almost equivalent to 35 Jordanian piasters, as stated by Mohammed Ba"li, Egyptian journalist and researcher, to the Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor.

Ba"li told AKEED that the official price of the loaf of bread in Egypt, which is five piasters, specifies the weight of the loaf. However, selling is not done according to weight, but by the loaf. Half of the weight of the loaf is reduced at many bakeries. In spite of this, the price per 1 kg does not exceed 1 pound at worst, which is equivalent to 4 Jordanian piasters.

Under the headline "Government Doubles Bread Prices and Changes Date of Increase; Example of Egypt Invalid," a website published the following story: "The statement made by Minister of Industry and Trade Yarub Qudah in the course of justifying raising bread prices is incorrect. The raise in prices went into effect on Saturday, 27 January, and not at the beginning of February, as announced by the government earlier."

The website added: "The minister gave Egypt as an example of bread prices. He said that its price is 35 piasters. The price of one loaf of bread is 5 piasters, which means that 1 kg is sold for 35 Egyptian piasters, and not Jordanian piasters. This is the price of subsidized bread for Egyptians in general. In Egypt, subsidy is extended through a magnetic card for citizens. Each individual gets three loaves, and not one loaf, as the government estimated when determining daily consumption."

Commentators on social media platforms considered the announcement of bread prices in a number of Arab countries through the government hashtag #haqqak_ti"raf (you have a right to know) as "illogical." This is because prices are measured based on the income of citizens in these countries, particularly Gulf states. Comparison with them here is not considered fair in view of their high per capita income. The commentators questioned the accuracy of bread prices in these countries.

Mazin Irsheid, a specialist in economic affairs, commented on the government list on his Facebook account as follows: "The Prime Ministry in Jordan thinks citizens can be easily fooled. It publishes a comparison of bread prices in some Arab countries to justify doubling its prices. I wish there could be comparisons with the same countries in terms of tax, minimum salary, and average per capita income. In Lebanon, for example, the minimum salary is $500 (Jordan 300), the sales tax is 11% (Jordan 16%), and the average per capita income is $7,000 (Jordan 3200). As for oil countries, I will leave it to you to compare."

In 2017, the website Numbeo, which is a source for international newspapers and major media outlets, including BBC, Time, Forbes, New York Times, and others, published the average monthly income of citizens in the world, including in Arab countries. The average monthly income in Jordan ranked fifth among the countries on the government list. According to Numbeo, the average monthly income, in Jordanian dinar, was highest in the UAE (2315), followed by Saudi Arabia (1186), Lebanon (725), Palestine (612), Jordan (433), Iraq (428), and Egypt (114).

Tareq Daajah, a journalist specialized in economic affairs, said that the list announced by the government on bread prices in a number of Arab countries did not make sense. Prices are not measured like this; we have to look at many considerations, most important of which is the per capita income in these countries, specifically Gulf states, compared with Jordan. He added that the government is trying to justify the new bread prices that went into effect last Saturday because the increase is significant. The new price generates a good profit margin for bakery owners. Besides, the government will continue to sell flour to bakeries at the old price, which is 50 dinars per tonne, and not the new price, which is 222 dinars, for five days until the beginning of February when the new price will be implemented. This will allow bakeries to make good profit.