Tomatoes are now eight times more expensive in Kuwait than they were a month ago – and netizens are not taking the change in prices in stride. They cannot find an explanation to why the cost of a box of tomatoes jumped from half a dinar ($1.70) to KD4 ($14) in just a few days.AlDestor wrote:
In his exciting address to our useless members of Parliament, the Prime Minister excused his constant travels around the world saying that he was looking for means to secure Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf’s food needs after 15 years.Dear Mr Prime Minister,
Are you aware that time has beat you and that we, in 2010, are suffering from an increase in the cost of vegetables, especially their leader, the tomato?
Ein Bagzee says the problem isn’t what to do about the hike in prices but how to deal with it:
The problem is in the culture of consumers who don’t understand the important cycle which any merchant depends on. Merchants cannot keep consumers at bay and will sell you his goods because at the end, there are different levels of losses and no one would want to lose completely. Everyone wants to sell and if the merchant loses a dinar today, he will win a good customer who will buy for KD2 in the future and this is how the commercial cycle continues. Yesterday, it was the rising cost of eggs and today, it is the tomatoes. Tomorrow it could be bread or rice, considering that agricultural produce in Peshawar – Pakistan – was destroyed in the floods.
m-vitaminz wonders why Parliament members are not up in arms about the increase in prices:
Why aren’t the members of Parliament and opposition holding lectures, gatherings and rallies to protest against the increase in the prices of tomatoes? Why haven’t they threatened the Prime Minister that with questioning in Parliament for the hike? Why haven’t they disclosed who is behind this huge spike in prices and formed an investigation committee?
And as with each problem in Kuwait, Twitter is flooded with jokes and comments about the subject.
BoJaij says:
Every parliamentarian will get a box of tomatoes for free to mark the beginning of the new Parliament term.
and fayounii throws sports into the mix:
The Kuwaiti Football Association has decided to give each player a box of tomatoes for winning the championship.Reposted, original on Global Voices Online by Abdulatif Allomar
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