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'Keep your bill': Dubai official tells residents receipts can help fight food price hikes
'The bill is your insurance policy;' it helps authorities to 'immediately take action' in case of any price changes, said a DET official
- PUBLISHED: Fri 6 Mar 2026, 6:41 PM
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]
Dubai’s food supply chain and food stores are healthy and active, with both local and global suppliers maintaining food supplies “for a good period of time,” a Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism spokesperson said.
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“Our supply chain is healthy and doing well and active, and our source markets are available and continue to provide us with the products we need, in addition to the local supply, which covers for a good period of time,” DET’s Director of Tourism Activities Monitoring, Ahmad Ahli, told Khaleej Times during an inspection tour in Al Aweer’s fruit and vegetable market and the nearby Union Coop hypermarket.
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Ahli said that while there has been a notable increase in people buying more food products this week, especially in certain areas, these items are readily available in stocks.
This came after what officials have called "blatant Iranian aggression" on the UAE and other Gulf nations' territories, which Iran said were retaliatory attacks in response to US and Israeli strikes on its soil.
Three people were killed inside the UAE due to the attacks, while 112 suffered minor injuries, according to the UAE Ministry of Defence.
The Minister of Economy, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, said during a press briefing on Tuesday that the UAE's stockpile of essential goods can last between four and six months, and that the country's import flows are proceeding as normal.
Ahli said that products are available and in “good quantity”, but advised consumers to shop responsibly to avoid putting strain on retailers as they have to refill shelves in a very short amount of time. “It puts a lot of pressure on the outlets to refill the shelves again and again in a very short period of time. Rather than do it once a day, they'll have to do it multiple times,” the DET director said.
Bill is your insurance policy
Food prices are monitored once every week and then are reviewed twice a week, Ahli said, with chances of price change being minimal. However, he admitted that it could happen, so consumers should always keep receipts in order to raise a complaint with the relevant authorities.
Ahli said that even if a consumer pays for a product for which they feel the price has been raised, keeping the bill is important as it is supporting evidence. “The bill is your insurance policy,” he said. “Just keep it. Even if they change the price again, your bill shows that the price was higher a few days ago. Therefore, we can immediately take action.”
One violation thus far
The DET has collaborated with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and Dubai Municipality since the beginning of Ramadan to conduct inspections in all grocery stores, both retail and wholesale, to make sure food prices are not unjustifiably hiked.
The Ministry of Economy introduced a new pricing policy in early 2025 in which the price of cooking oil, eggs, dairy, rice, sugar, poultry, legumes, bread, and wheat remain relatively stable. The policy prohibits the increase of these nine essential goods without a justifiable reason, one that must be approved by the Ministry itself.
Ahli said that since the beginning of Ramadan (18 February), the department issued only one violation for a non-justified price increase.
Hind Aldah is a business reporter based in Sharjah. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.