Shania Shayal Prasad 
Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission monitoring prices
The government has disclosed there were numerous disparities reported by suppliers and traders concerning the pricing of specific food items and services following the VAT increase from 9 to 15 percent in August.
Finance Minister Biman Prasad, while mentioning the hike in chicken prices last month, says when they reached out to suppliers, they denied making any alterations.
He adds some unscrupulous traders found in violation alleged that suppliers had mandated the price increase, leading to further confusion.
The Finance Minister stressing for genuine dialogue and discussions to ensure accurate prices are charged.
“Government is making sure, and that has been a policy previously, so we haven’t changed any of those. Because we realize the importance of production, we put together all three of those and employ about 2,400 people, but they can’t use that to hold 800,000 people to ransom by increasing the price of chickens in an unscrupulous manner.”
Prasad highlights that 1,000 surveys and 917 inspections conducted nationwide found 62 traders in breach. In light of these figures, discussions on re-examining the penalty for non-compliance has also been held.
“If we find that there are certain products where the traders are deliberately making sure that make big margins, we will have no option but bring it under price control but the point that honorable Koya has raised penalties is very important because there are some and they disturb the market, they distort the market in a big way.”
The government had formed a price surveillance taskforce consisting of the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission, Fiji Revenue and Custom Services, and the Ministry of Finance to monitor prices following the budget announcement.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
