Karak, Irbid residents urge boycott of commodities with higher prices

AMMAN — In rejection of the government's tax policies, citizens and traders in northern and southern districts said they are waging boycott campaigns of the commodities whose prices have been raised.

Citing keenness towards citizens' interests, traders in Karak's Al Qasr District issued a joint statement saying they have embarked on a boycott campaign of commodities experiencing a respective increase in prices, especially dairy products and soda drinks. 

In their statement, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times, traders said that their move aimed at pressing companies to cancel the price hikes of these products.

Signatories of the statement said that the approach of the government's price hikes, which has added more pressure on the "already-burdened citizens", was the main motive behind their move.

Karak's Al Qasr District, with a population of around 22,000 people, includes seven villages: Al Rabbah, Asmakiyeh, Al Yarout, Damneh, Shihan, Al Rawdah and Al Rashadiyeh.

Last weekend, Karak, located 140km south of Amman, witnessed protests over the price hikes, some of which turned into small-scale riots that required security forces' intervention.

Residents of Irbid's Al Taybeh District also said they have begun a boycott campaign against the price hike of commodities. 

Organisers of the campaign said that residents of the district's six villages are gradually moving from "pseudo-boycotters" to fully fledged ones of all commodities that saw an increase in prices.

"Our campaign was launched a week ago and it has been gaining considerable support by consumers and traders," one of the organisers previously told The Jordan Times.

Requesting anonymity, the organiser said that the campaign has been launched on Facebook, where residents of the district were called upon to shy away from buying all products whose prices have been raised, "primarily soda drinks and dairy products".

"Shop owners were very cooperative. They stopped buying in bulk all products that experienced price hikes under the government's recent decision."

The northern district of Taybeh in Irbid, some 90km north of Amman, combines the villages Samma, Deir El Seaneh, Makhraba, Mandah, Zabdah and Ibsar Abu Ali with a population of around 52,000.