President Kais Saied held a meeting at Carthage Palace on Saturday with Minister of Interior Kamel Feki, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries Abdelmonem Belati, Minister of Trade and Export Development Kalthoum Ben Rejeb Guezzah and CEO of the National Olive Oil Authority Hamed Dali. The meeting focused on the "unacceptable increase in the prices of a number of foodstuffs, including olive oil", according to a statement issued by the Presidency of the Republic. President Saied gave instructions to take urgent measures to put an end to speculation and monopolies and to hold fully responsible any party that seeks to harm the livelihood of citizens in general. The Head of State said that Tunisia produces the best olive oils in the world and occupies the first ranks of the largest forests of this "blessed tree". It is «unacceptable that oil prices increase in this way, no matter what justifications some try to provide to hide the monopoly and circumvent the law, knowing that the bulk of olive oil is destined for export and most of it is sold abroad after being packaged without indicating its origin.» The President stressed that urgent measures must be taken to ensure that everyone respects the law, saying that no one is above the law. He called on everyone to take part in this "battle waged by the Tunisian people against those who have wreaked havoc in the country and some of whom still believe that they are above accountability". In the same context of the oil issue, the President of the Republic called for dismantling all the networks that seize subsidised oil and divert it from consumption to oil for industrial use. "The national community pays thousands of billions while this oil is absent in most shops as a result of these criminal practices that seek to harass the people and seize their resources," he was quoted as saying in the same statement. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse