Monopoly, corruption behind price hike in Iraq – experts

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi economists converged that prices of goods in the country did not go down the way it happened in other states, as the country’s local market is dominated by a number of businessmen who thrive on corruption within state-run institutions . The experts called on the Iraqi government to legislate laws to combat monopoly and open the market for competition. Prof. Mohammed Shaaban, head of the department of economy at Duhuk University, said, “Reduction in prices in producer countries was not reflected in Iraq, as the Iraqi market is not organized in a good way”. “Some goods experience weak customs and taxing policies, while others suffer costs of dealers and transportation,” he said . “Labor costs were not reduced worldwide,” he added . “The construction sector witnessed a reduction in prices of raw materials, as those materials are imported, but other sectors that rely on locally-produced materials did not have the same decrease,” he added . “Politics also affects the Iraqi economy,” he explained . “Stable economy requires transparent and clear structure that producers, consumers and importers clearly know, to respond to changes in prices abroad,” he noted . “The Iraqi market is left to businessmen’s hidden hands to impose the prices they want,” he proceeded.” “This issue is due to the weakness of local provincial authorities, corruption, and lack of legislations that protect consumers,” he pointed out . Abdulrahman al-Mashahadani, head of the department of economy at al-Mustansiriya institute for studies, attributed the increase in prices on the Iraqi market to “different parameters, including the lack of quality control.” “Many bad products are imported to Iraq,” he said . “Corruption also plays a role in importing bad products with low prices to sell them with high prices in Iraq,” he added . “Merchants who import bad products should be punished,” he stressed . “Prices cannot be controlled by the government, and can be controlled only by having competitive importers,” he added. “As far as the demand is expanding while the offer is limited, the current situation would not change in the Iraqi market,” he noted . “Corruption also leads to high prices, as importers need to pay bribes to customs and security personnel, a matter that increases prices of imported goods,” he pointed out . Raghib Ridha, head of the Iraqi businessmen union, said that there is chaos in the Iraqi trade . “A large number of merchants today do not work in their respective fields,” he said . “They have no experience, and they just want to make quick profits without any regulations,” he added . “This is part of the chaos in Iraq; there are no price regulations, and there are no foundations for supply and demand,” he noted. “In most countries, prices of imported goods have gone down by 20 to 30 percent, except Iraq, where prices went up,” he added . “There should be surveillance over the market in Iraq, otherwise, there would be no trust between consumers and merchants,” he stressed. Lawmaker, Yunadim Kena, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s economic committee, said that the Iraqi market is monopolized by some fat cats supported by some political circles in power. “That also helped increase prices, and turned Iraq from a producer into a consumer,” he said . “Iraq is in need of a package of legislations in this regard,” he added . “Surveillance and quality control are important to protect consumers,” he explained, adding corruption facilitates monopoly of the market. Kena called for a genuine competition on the Iraqi market to bring prices to their real levels . MH (R)/AmR 2