[Photo: FILE]

The Consumer Council of Fiji has raised concerns that certain supply patterns in the retail market may be influencing the availability of essential goods, leaving consumers with fewer affordable options.

Consumer Council Chief Executive Seema Shandil says some trends suggest availability may be affected not only by supply chain issues but also by pricing processes and broader market behaviour.

Shandil highlighted this while making submissions before the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission’s 2023–2024 Annual Report.

She says suppliers have indicated that in some cases, products remain off shelves while price adjustment applications are still being processed.

Shandil pointed to instances where essential goods, including locally manufactured products such as canned mutton, were not consistently available in the market.

In some cases, she says, suppliers indicated that products remained off shelves while price adjustment applications were still being processed.

“We suggest that future reports, because they are doing so many market surveillance and monitoring price and non-price control items, to include specific actions that they have undertaken to deter artificial shortages on the shelves or selective stocking. Currently, we have an issue in the marketplace where the locally manufactured canned mutton is not available in the marketplace. Upon investigation, the suppliers informed us that they have made a submission to FCCC and they’re still waiting for the outcome of this submission, which is that they’re asking for a price increase, but that should not stop them from shelving the item.”

Shandil says these supply patterns raise questions about whether regulatory approval processes and market decisions by suppliers or retailers are influencing when and how essential goods are made available to consumers.

She says stronger oversight is needed to ensure consumers are not impacted by gaps in stocking decisions or delays in pricing approvals that affect product supply.