Kuwait Times

Published Date: March 06, 2008
By Hussain Al-Qatari, Staff writer

KUWAIT: A chain text message bombarded Kuwaiti mobile phones, calling on Kuwaiti youths to "boycott coffee shops, malls, shopping complexes, restaurants and even co-ops to fight price inflation on March 6". The same message was forwarded as an email to dozens of people around the state. The author of the email message wrote: "Let us all see the result if we stay home for one weekend. Let's see what business owners will do if they don't get any customers for a single day.

The Cabinet recently approved a KD 120 pay raise for all citizens and a KD 50 pay hike for expats working in the civil service to combat rising inflation. Basic foodstuffs prices continue to surge, registering a more than 40 percent hike in the last three months. Official inflation hit a record annual rate of 7.3 percent this past fall. Despite inflation, Kuwait's airport floods during holidays and weekends as thousands of citizens and expatriates leave for short vacations. Sales of luxury items also rema
in high.

It's unlikely the boycott call will have much impact in shopping-addicted Kuwait. The country of 3 million plus people has more than a dozen major shopping centers and thousands of shops and restaurants.