Effective immediately the prices of the items listed under the new price control order, which came into force yesterday are now only interim prices until the Commerce Commission sets the new prices on these items.
Items now under interim prices and subject to the new pricing models include milk of all kinds, baby milk, baby food, imported butter, chicken, corned beef and mutton, edible oil, ghee, imported fish and other seafood items, margarine, noodles, onions, imported potatoes, imported rice, sheep meat as classified, sugar, tea, medicine, premium unleaded petrol, kerosene, white benzene and premixed outboard fuel.
Commission Chairman Dr Mahendra Reddy revealed to Fijivillage that they found four major flaws in the old price control order which allowed wholesalers and retailers to manipulate the system and increase prices of items under price control.
These flaws included that if retailers were importing the goods themselves they were allowed to add the mark up for the importer, wholesaler and retailer which amounted to around 30 percent mark up in some cases.
Another flaw was that the then Prices and Incomes board did not compute the cost of items themselves as it was the retailers and wholesalers who provided the computed costs for approval.
Another major flaw in the old price order was that retailers and wholesalers would change the dimensions and quantity of products to avoid coming under prescribed price controls for weighted products.
Dr Reddy said all retailers are being sent letters to inform them of the new price order.
All retailers also have 14 days to provide detailed information on costs on each product now under price control before the Commission sets the new prices.
Dr Reddy said the new reduced prices on the 20 food items are expected to come into effect within one month time.
Story by: Roneel Lal.
