His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday paid an unannounced visit to Al Salam Markets in the capital, as part of his efforts to follow up on measures taken to protect citizens from the hikes in prices of commodities.

During his visit to the market, which is affiliated with the Military Consumer Corporation (MCC), King Abdullah called for measures to provide citizens with good quality goods and foodstuff at suitable prices.

His Majesty toured the department store and met with a number of shoppers there.

He was also briefed by the market director, Colonel Mohammad Shakhatreh, on MCC measures to provide citizens with best-priced products, noting that the corporation operates on a “low profit margin” that only covers workers’ salaries.

King Abdullah has been paying surprise visits to several institutions in order to see first-hand if people are well served and what problems they face. Al Salam Markets’ monthly sales are estimated at JD2.5 million, according to Shakhatreh, who noted that around 1,000 shoppers come to the market each day, rising to 2,000 at the end of each month. He added that products sold at the MCC markets undergo strict controls at the military lab to guarantee their quality.