Some grocery stores in West Amman are charging up to 50 percent more for food staples than shops in other parts of the city, the National Society for Consumer Protection said.

In a new report, the watchdog compared the prices of 44 food items that are consumed on a daily basis and are all obtained from the same source but are sold at noticeably higher prices in West Amman, whose residents make up no more than 20 percent of the capital’s overall population. According to the society, the difference reached 50 percent in some cases.

The society’s President Mohammad Obeidat said 42 of the 44 items were more expensive in West Amman, and only two dairy items had the same price tag due to the fact that the prices are set by the production companies themselves.

The study, which was carried out between April 30 and May 5, attributed the higher prices to higher rents that supermarkets and grocery shops in West Amman pay, as well as consumers’ tastes, the display at these shops, and the wealthier demographics of the people in that area.

These elements “are what drive retailers to set high prices to cover operational costs and make profit margins that seem higher, as the sources of these goods are one in the western and eastern parts of Amman,” said Obeidat, who called on.