By Mohammed al-Kibsi - More than 3 million sacks of wheat flour were discovered hidden in four large warehouses belonging to five merchants in the suburbs of the capital Sana�a, said the general manager of the industry and trade office of Sana�a governorate, Abdul-Hakim al-Kumaim. The flour had been hidden so that the five merchants�who are considered the biggest traders of wheat and foodstuffs in Yemen�could monopolize the flour and create a crisis in supply that would enable them to keep jacking up flour prices.

Flour prices have been increasing rapidly since the start of Ramadan last October. Al-Kumaim said that the inspectors in his office discovered the hoarded flour in four vast warehouses, each about 60,000 cubic meters, in Bani Hushaish and Hamdan districts. The five merchants were questioned by the Office of Industry and Trade of Sana�a governorate, and all of them have written pledges to put the discovered wheat flour into the market.

�We cannot force them to market the discovered flour without the cooperation of the other concerned authorities, especially the Ministry of The Interior, the public prosecutors, and judiciary authorities,� said al-Kumaim. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has referred 2,600 merchants to the general prosecution for violating pricing regulations, and for not marking the government fixed prices of foodstuffs and other commodities on the front of their wares, as was agreed upon between the tradesmen and the Ministry of Trade.

Others were referred to the general prosecution for violating the standards for weights. Many traders labeled products with false weights that were heavier than the actual weights, said the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Abdullah Shaiban. The inspection and monitoring campaigns by the ministry�s offices have been continuing in all the markets across the country on a daily basis, searching for violators. Shaiban said that some merchants, producers, and importers of foodstuffs and other commodities have raised their prices by about 5 to 10 percent without any justification.

� This was contrary to the ministry�s resolution to curb the price hikes, and was in violation of the pledges they signed with the ministry at the beginning of this month to not raise the prices, said Shaiban.
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