Timoci Vula
Consumer Council of Fiji CEO Seema Shandil. Picture: FT FILE
The Consumer Council of Fiji has unearthed practices by some traders who are retailing basic food items such as potatoes and onions at erroneous prices, and without following the legally mandated pricing formula.
Consumer Council of Fiji CEO Seema Shandil said the intent behind implementing controls stems from the desire to maintain affordability of essential everyday items consumers use, and that low income-earners are able to buy those products too.
She said complaints lodged by concerned consumers and information received via the Council’s market surveillance has revealed that certain traders, especially dairy shops, are selling individual potatoes and onions at extremely high prices – in one instance, a trader was selling onion at $0.50 each.
An official said that the man had been given the 12 vials by the owner of the pharmaceutical firm at a cost of Rs 8000 per vial. After this information was received, Javed Rehman Akhtar, the owner of the pharmaceutical firm was also arrested.
Reports suggest that both the people who were arrested have been charged under the relevant provisions of the IPC, Drug Price Control Order, Essential Commodities Act and Drugs and Cosmetics Act at Andheri Police Station.
The Remdesivir injections are currently high in demand due to the ongoing continuous spike in the number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai. The Maharashtra government had on Thursday also capped the price of Remdesivir between Rs 1100 and Rs 1400 per vial and had warned the public against hoarding and black marketing of the same.