The Federal Competitors and Shopper Safety Fee has sounded the alarm on a ‘cartel’ manipulating market costs nationwide, inflating prices for items and providers regardless of authorities stabilisation efforts.
Addressing stakeholders throughout a one-day engagement on exploitative pricing in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, FCCPC Chief Government Officer, Mr. Tunji Bello, revealed that the fee’s investigations in main cities have uncovered troubling practices.
Within the poultry sector, Bello highlighted how influential gamers are dictating costs, severely impacting smaller producers. “Small poultry homeowners beforehand offered a day-old chick for between N480 and N590 and nonetheless made a revenue. Nonetheless, the entry of two main market gamers modified that,” he acknowledged, selecting to withhold their names for now.
He defined that these entities injected substantial capital into the market, finally controlling 80 to 90 % of the poultry sector.
“These massive gamers used their monetary clout to hijack the native poultry farmers’ affiliation, mandating that day-old chicks be offered at N1,350, which contradicts the financial precept that larger manufacturing usually lowers costs,” he added.
Bello emphasised that this manipulation is why costs stay excessive regardless of numerous governmental help for the poultry business. Over the previous 12 months, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Meals Safety has assisted poultry farmers with broilers, nutritional vitamins, feeds, and money by quite a few interventions throughout Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
He additionally pointed to exploitative pricing within the packaging sector, citing a cartel of 5 dominant gamers accountable for importing and supplying packaging supplies.
“They function in a mafia-like method. If you happen to try to barter with one, they tip off the others, making certain uniform pricing,” Bello lamented.
Concerning the shortage of sanctions towards these sharp practices, Bello defined that the FCCPC initially opts for dialogue within the spirit of democracy slightly than imposing the act, which carries extreme penalties, together with hefty fines and jail time.
He urged the enterprise neighborhood in Akwa Ibom to collaborate with the FCCPC to deal with exploitative pricing and promote market integrity.
To alleviate the financial burden on customers, Bello famous that President Bola Tinubu has launched a number of aid measures, together with the elimination of tariffs on meals imports, VAT on prescribed drugs and medical units, tax waivers for companies and public transport, and facilitating straightforward credit score for changing autos from petrol to CNG.
“It’s only truthful that our businessmen and merchants share the advantages of those measures with customers by diminished costs,” Bello acknowledged.
A number of audio system on the occasion expressed concern concerning the excessive value of doing enterprise in Nigeria, significantly citing rising rates of interest, a number of taxation, and elevated electrical energy tariffs as important challenges.
Earlier, Government Commissioner for Operations on the FCCPC, Dr. Abdullahi Adamu, referred to as on stakeholders to supply options to handle cartel actions and enhance the market state of affairs within the nation.