Milk prices drop

There is some good news for consumers as the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission has set new prices for milk.

FCCC says the price for a 450g pack of Agricom Limited’s Farmers Best Full Cream Milk has been decreased by 5.35 percent to $6.90 as of Thursday.

A 250g pack of Agricom Limited’s Farmers Best Full Cream Milk has been decreased by 3.59 percent to $4.03 as of Thursday.

They say from tomorrow, the price for a 450g pack of Punjas Red Cow Powdered Milk will be reduced by 27 percent to $6.87, while the 300g pack will reduce by 26.43 percent to $4.74.

From tomorrow also a 1 Litre pack of Anchor UHT Full Cream Milk will be reduced by 13.43 percent to $2.90.

FCCC CEO Joel Abraham highlighted that price controls are an important part of a stable Fijian economy and that it is critical to ensure that prices for essential products which are part of the everyday food items for many families are managed sustainably for both consumers and manufacturers.

He adds that Fiji is a price taker, meaning that we are subjected to the movement of international prices of raw products.

Abraham says due to the reduction in landed costs driven by changes in tariffs and supplier costs, submissions were made to reduce the price of their products.

The FCCC CEO has commended Agricom Limited and Punjas, for following responsible and proactive business practices that are also fair to the consumer is what makes a market grow.

He further says the decrease will also ease the burden on Fijian families, especially mothers.

Abraham says their enforcement teams will be on the ground from tomorrow conducting inspections to ensure that the new prices are being reflected by traders and that the benefits of the price reductions are being passed onto Fijian consumers as intended.

He adds that other importers and producers of milk products are being furnished notices to ensure that they produce a fair price based on the current reduction.