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Why do prices go up prior to and during Ramadan? It may be an easy answer: a mixture of merchant greed and the tradition that Ramadan is the month of throwing banquets for family and friends.
But this isn't always the case. Retailers are also setting the stage for increasing demand. Think about it: first, Dubai's population includes 80 per cent expatriates, many of whom are not Muslims. Then, most Muslim expatriates have either small families here or they are singles. Would they be throwing iftars for 20 people? I don't think so.
Where is the demand coming from then? My guess it is from those who are turning the month into a seasonal sale event similar to Back to School and Valentine's Day.
You would know what I am talking about if you have been to any of the hypermarkets recently. Stacks of cream caramel mix, oil, juice, cooking ware, etc are pushing upfront to greet customers. All bundled in huge quantities with so little detail on how much you're actually saving by buying, for instance, ten boxes of strawberry Jello!
While I was shopping, I thought of how much storage space I had and how little I liked strawberry Jello. I also wondered about what happened to the basic menus of iftar, sohour and desserts. They should be different here from where I grew up, but I find it hard to track cream caramel to any Arab or Emirati origin.
My conclusion: this sale has nothing to do with Ramadan.
Last year I walked into the trap when the stands were set up two weeks before the month started. I admit I could not resist the display of Ramadan's goodies. Regardless of the prices, I went home with bags of nuts and dried fruits - and calories. Unfortunately, my goodies seemed tobe a remainder of the stock from the year before. The expiry date was very close, and I could taste a whole year of storage on them. I wonder now if the items on sale would be more accurately labelled "reduced to clear".
So before you load your cart, think of what you'd be doing with 10 litres of cooking oil - and remember to check expiry dates.
Family first
Ramadan is also becoming a business event. A senior executive, who isn't even a Muslim, told me last year that he almost had no dinners with his family through the first two weeks of Ramadan. "You simply cannot ignore the Iftar and Sohour invitations," he said.
Companies, social clubs and business associations take the advantage of Ramadan to bring together staff and clients. The practice should be encouraging closer integration, but it usually fails to do so. First, unlike business dinners, where food is an accessory on the table, Iftars are about breaking the fast. Therefore, you find those who are divided between their physical need to eat, their preference to be with families and their obligation to be there and take care of business.
I really don't know how much this costs companies, but it seems like year after year it is gaining more importance in how companies present themselves. The other side, another executive told me, is that you have no control over what you eat for most of the month. "Keeping in shape is just impossible in Ramadan," he added.
Is it good for your budget? A friend, whose husband usually receives such invitations, strongly objects.
"When we don't sit down for Iftar as a family, I have to compensate the kids in a way," she added. How? She takes them out for a dessert or on most days they eat out. Sounds like a dietary problem coupled with a significant financial cost. Turning down some invitations would be a wiser decision, right?
Before you load your cart, think of what you'd be doing with 10 litres of cooking oil - and check expiry dates.
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