Top level talks called on Kuwait inflation

INFLATION BATTLE: Kuwait government officials have called more talks to formulate strategy on prices hike. (Getty Images)

Kuwaiti government officials are to hold further talks on Thursday as it struggles to contain soaring inflation.

Commerce and Industry Minister and State Minister for National Assembly Affairs Ahmad Baqer said a number of proposals had been put forward at a meeting on Monday which would be finalised later this week.

He said that the government's strategy would be wholly based on serving citizens' interests, reported Kuwait Times on Wednesday.

Although the government would not subsidise all food products, subsidies on essential items would be provided since these are seen as being a heavy burden on the finances of both citizens and expatriates.

The world's seventh-largest oil exporter, the only Gulf Arab state without a dollar peg, is fighting record inflation hitting 11 percent in April and May, driven by food and housing costs.

Recommendations to Thursday's cabinet meeting are thought to include a wider range of subsidies and supporting some food firms in sectors such as livestock and flour mills to reduce prices for consumers.

The plan also includes the creation of a consumer protection committee to prevent fraud and the export of subsidized products.

The central bank, which has allowed the dinar currency to rise by more than eight percent since dropping the dollar peg in May 2007, has toughened rules for consumer loans to discourage banks from lending too much.

The government has also allowed cooperative supermarkets, where nationals can buy subsidised food, to import commodities directly, cutting out wholesale importers in an effort to reduce prices at the till, according to a decree published in the official gazette.

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