The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission has not made any comments on the market inquiry into the pricing practice of the entire industry that began on the 1st of May this year.
This comes as questions are being asked about what the FCCC is doing with regards to prices of food as it has been noted that prices have gone down, in some cases significantly, following the announcement on the inquiry and with the national budget announcement just weeks away.
People are also asking if these are seasonal assessments when people raise serious concerns or when the budget is approaching.
FCCC CEO, Joel Abraham had earlier said the objective of the study is to ensure that they are able to establish the structure of the grocery retail sector and undertake a comprehensive analysis to look at the market size and segmentation.
He said FCCC has some concerns regarding product prices, which may be artificially driven and as a result of sheer corporate greed.
Abraham said if this is revealed to be true, then the players in the supermarket industry will face the full brunt of the law.
He said FCCC intensified its monitoring of essential items both within regulated and unregulated sectors to tackle the elevated price levels that burden Fijian consumers.
The CEO had said they had identified a list of products for detailed supply chain assessment, ensuring the privacy practices aligned with fair market practices and protection of consumer rights.
He said they are initially looking at certain products like chicken, noodles, toothpaste, bathing soap, washing detergent, baking powder, chicken portions, sausages, yogurt and lamb products.
The study encompasses the grocery retail sector market segment, and the wholesale sector as well as imports.
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