Cape Town - An investigation into basic foodstuffs has been launched by the Competition Commission following the “opportunistic price increases of sunflower oil”.
The commission on Wednesday said South African consumers may be facing opportunistic price increases of sunflower oil, as processor prices have increased by far more than sunflower seed prices this year.
Retailers have also not passed on wholesale cost reductions for bread, resulting in widening retail margins.
“The commission’s work in food price monitoring has revealed several concerns in South Africa’s food markets and food value chains. These include wide farm-to-retail spread in prices, large price differences between regions for basic fresh produce, growing margins at the processor and retailer level, as well as the general trend of price inflation that started with the Covid-19 pandemic and has been exacerbated by supply chain constraints and the Eastern European conflict.
“Ongoing food price monitoring, therefore, remains a priority for the commission, especially given its importance to the welfare of South Africans and poor consumers in particular. The latest report found that there hasn’t been a significant increase in the prices of fruits and vegetables in recent months. This is encouraging as fresh produce is an important source of nutrition and the food basket of lower-income households. It is only tomatoes where there has been price volatility,” the commission said.
It added that it will continue monitoring food prices as the global food markets begin to normalise and ensure that any cost reductions are passed on through the value chain immediately.
“The commission has also initiated investigations into basic foodstuff value chains in order to act against any opportunistic behaviour given the levels of concentration in the value chain.”
Cape Times