The UAE’s Ministry of Economy and Tourism has published its monthly price monitoring schedule for August 2026, tracking average prices of essential commodities across 13 retail outlets through its “Essential Goods Prices Platform.”
The digital platform strengthen market oversight and automate price monitoring, and it’s aimed at enhancing transparency, regulation and price control in local markets, while providing reliable data to track price trends.
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The August data covered 33 essential commodities in various pack sizes, including rice, flour, oils, eggs, milk, dairy products, legumes, chicken, bread and sugar, recorded across the retail outlets covered by the platform.
Rice, flour and dairy prices
The average price of a 1kg pack of Basmati rice stood at approximately Dh16.62, while a 5kg pack averaged Dh45.53. A 1kg pack of first- and second-grade flour averaged Dh7.76, with a 2kg pack priced at approximately Dh12.26.
Among dairy products, a 0.5-litre carton of fresh full-fat milk averaged Dh3.91, while a 1-litre carton cost Dh9.46. A 170g container of yoghurt averaged Dh1.97.
Canola oil averaged Dh15.86 for a 1-litre bottle and Dh23.97 for a 1.5-litre bottle. Corn oil averaged Dh13.85 for 0.75 litres and Dh24.92 for 1.5 litres, while sunflower oil averaged Dh19.31 for a 1-litre bottle and Dh35.70 for a 3-litre bottle.
A 30-egg pack of brown eggs averaged Dh23.05, compared with Dh22.97 for the same pack size of white eggs.
Fresh whole chicken averaged Dh18.94 for an 800g bird and Dh22.97 for a 1kg bird. Pure white sugar averaged Dh8.75 for a 1kg pack and Dh10.94 for a 2kg pack.
Lowest prices recorded
The Ministry also recorded the lowest prices found at retail outlets during the month. The cheapest 170g container of yoghurt was priced at Dh1.42, while the lowest price for 0.5 litres of full-fat fresh milk was Dh3.22.
Other low prices recorded included Dh3.24 for 0.5kg of white chickpeas (dry and canned), Dh4.47 for 0.6kg of sliced white bread, and Dh4.93 for 450g of fava beans (dry and canned).
Source: Khaleej Times