Hardship: Indiscriminate Increase In Price Of Sachet Water Unacceptable – FCCPC

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has condemned the increase in the price of sachet water as inflation and hardship continue to bite harder.

Condemning the outrageous increase while at an event set aside to commemorate 2024 World Consumer Rights Day in Abuja on Friday, the acting Executive Vice-Chairman of FCCPC, Dr Adamu Abdullahi, described the astronomical increase as unacceptable.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Abdullahi argued that the Sachet Water Association’s move to increase the price was unacceptable and unfair to consumers.

Naija News reports that he argued that there was no justification whatsoever for the increase in the price of sachet water because most of the producers already had their machines which they use for production.

The acting executive vice chairman said that while the commission was not a price control agency, it was deeply committed to addressing the rapid rise in food prices that was affecting consumers.

He said, “Yes, power, fuel, price of nylon have increased, but that cannot explain the cause of the astronomical rise in price.

“What we have discovered is that most products now have associations, even the sachet water producers.

“When you have your eggs that you brought from your farm to sell at Wuse Market, the association of egg sellers will tell you that you have to sell to them at cheaper rates while they resell to consumers at higher prices.

“This has now resulted in emergence of ‘cartels’ and cartels, anywhere in the world, are not acceptable.

“Our act is against price fixing, and it is not acceptable to us. We will find out these cartels and do something about their activities.

“Consumers International joined the efforts that gave us an inkling of how prices have rolled in Nigeria in the last three months, and it is so surprising and unacceptable.

“It is simply the issue of cartels, and we have to break in, find out what is going on, and dissolve such cartels. But the consumers are the ones who will lodge the complaint with us before we go and find out.

“The surge in food prices can be attributed to various factors, including market cartels, price fixing, hoarding and gouging, and a lack of transparency in pricing.

“FCCPC is actively engaged in combating these challenges to ensure fair pricing and protect consumers’ interests.”