Beware of Price Hikes

During the previous presidential elections, President Saleh promised people that prices will not increase, and will improve the country's financial situation. He promised that Yemen will be free from poverty in 2008. However, since then prices of basic foods and necessities have increased at a rate between 50 to 350 percent.

Last week, locals in Taiz started a campaign against the price hikes as they gathered one million signatures who begged the president not to raise the prices. The signatures were sent to President Saleh personally.

This week in Aden, the price of bread increased 100 percent! How can it suddenly increase so much without the censorship of the government. In 2004 in Jordan, the price of bread increased 10 percent and citizens flooded the streets protesting and demanding the government to rethink the price hikes. What does the Yemeni government expect people to do when the prices increased ten times that of Jordan's prices.

Unfortunately and sadly, senior wholesale exporters promised that they will raise the prices very soon, some even predicted that it could come as early as next week. The average salary in Yemen has only increased 10 percent over the last three years, where basic food prices increased nearly 300 percent.

Why all the increases?

Why make life worse for the already poverty filled families?

Why do prices increase every month?