Cape Town - The Competition Commission has said it is investigating hundreds of complaints against retailers and
suppliers for charging excessive prices for essential products during the
coronavirus outbreak.
Most complaints related to hand sanitisers and face masks, followed by toilet paper, flu medication and other products.
In a statement, the commission said: “Since the declaration of the State of National Disaster, we have received 559 complaints, an unprecedented number. The commission is prioritising those cases against national retailers and suppliers, and also those cases from complainants who are essential services professionals, such as doctors, dentists and police. The complaints are under expedited preliminary investigations, with respondent firms given 48 hours to confirm or rebut allegations.”
The commission issued over 100 letters to firms, with varying responses. Some said the price increases were explained as the difference between December and January promotional pricing, with prices reverting back to normal in February, the same time as the coronavirus outbreak.
“Following its inquiries, the commission has witnessed some of the large national retailers instituting pricing discipline across their branches, including Massmart, who recently announced a price freeze in all its stores (Makro, Cambridge Food, Game and Cash & Carry) for the duration of the nationwide lockdown,” it said.
“As of Tuesday, Spar Group has started sharing with the commission promotional prices for essential goods for the upcoming three weeks. The list covers all basic goods such as sugar, detergents, flour, chicken, etc. The Spar Group is alerting the commission so that when prices go back to normal after the promotion, they are not deemed as having increased.”
The spiralling prices of foods such as wheat, white maize, onions and tomatoes have also caught the commission’s attention and the statement said it was “monitoring these prices".
An attorney at Adams and Adams, Kameel Pancham, said: “In our
situation in South Africa, the price is determined as excessive if the mark-up increases above the average mark-up in the three months prior to the declaration of the State of Disaster.”