[Source: Down to Earth]

The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission will be making recommendation to the Ministry of Trade to enforce price control on ghee.

This is following a sharp increase in retail prices from July to September this year.

According to FCCC Chief Executive Joel Abraham, the spike in prices has significantly affected consumers, especially ahead of the upcoming Diwali celebrations.

In a press conference this afternoon, Abraham outlined the findings of their preliminary investigation, which revealed that ghee prices have risen dramatically due to market effects.

He says their assessment noted a combined markup of about 53 percent from factory to retail.

The CEO says one of their key recommendations is to place ghee under price control immediately, marking it as the first item in the grocery sector market study to come under regulation.

“The price relating to the supply of ghee products from factory, wholesale and retail are to be authorized pursuant to section 41 of the FCCC Act. And once this order takes effect, we will announce the maximum wholesale price for ghee. And this will most certainly show a reduction and provide much needed relief to those celebrating Diwali this year, products such as these necessary state multi agency collaboration and for example, in this case, we are going to be discussing other products for review of biosecurity measures. These include ghee, non-iodized salt and non-dairy based baby milk.”

The Commission’s recommendation will be formally submitted to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Cooperatives, SMEs, and Communications, Manoa Kamikamica, pursuant to Section 39 of the Fiji Competition and Consumer Commission Act.

This legislation grants the Minister the authority to enforce price controls on essential goods to protect consumers from unfair price hikes.

Abraham acknowledged several retailers who have voluntarily reduced prices in recent weeks, with some selling at cost or below to ease the financial burden on consumers.

However, he emphasizes that a more structured and enforceable solution is necessary to ensure that price reductions at the wholesale level are reflected in retail prices across the board.

FCCC is expected to make a formal announcement later on this next week.