Carpenters Fiji Limited, the operators of Morris Hedstroms supermarkets has stressed that they will not willfully allow sale of any expired or damaged products as alleged by a survey by the Ministry of Trade and Investment.

In a statement issued in the last hour, Group Chief Executive Officer Freddie Keshwan said they express deep concern at the statement made by the Minister for Trade Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday on certain allegations levelled at MH Supermarkets.

Keshwan stressed that MH had strict policies regarding expired and damaged goods and under no circumstances will allow the willful sale of any such products.

Keshwan added that in regards to inappropriate trade practices as alleged by the Minister, they deny any inapt practices outside of what any prudent enterprise would engage as part of its normal business dealings to maximize business under the very challenging environment currently experienced in the country.

However, the CEO said the Carpenters group welcomes and willfully cooperates with any investigations to allay the concerns of the Ministry and the public at large on these matters.

The Department of Fair Trading and Consumer Affairs conducted a survey of MH outlets located in Tamavua, Valelevu, Flagstaff and City Centre after receiving numerous complaints from members of the public and the Consumer council of Fiji.

Trade Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the results of the surveys have confirmed that a number of food products, canned and frozen, that were retailed had allegedly gone past the stated expiry dates, or did not carry expiry dates at all and the survey also found that certain damaged food products were also retailed.   
 
The Minister said it has also been found that the MH retail company is allegedly engaged in inappropriate trade practices by misusing its market power and he has received complaints from local manufacturers and suppliers.

The allegations state that MH is forcing suppliers into oppressive trade terms, such as demanding payment for shelf space, demanding unreasonable rebates and misusing its market share to force suppliers and manufacturers into unreasonable credit terms.

Further investigations into these allegations will be carried out.