FCCPC points fingers at distribution system

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission FCCPC has blamed the distribution sector, including wholesalers and retailers, for the spike in the prices of foodstuffs and other commodities.
The South-South Zonal Coordinator of FCCPC, Uchegbu Chukwuma, disclosed this shortly after taking newsmen on a survey of the popular Oil Mill Market in Port Harcourt.
Chukwuma said that the commission’s position followed market inquiries in some states within the zone, saying that its surveillance efforts suggest participants in the food chain and distribution sector such as wholesalers and retailers, are allegedly engaged in conspiracy, price gouging, hoarding, and other unfair practices to restrict competition in the market.
He further stated that such illicit acts restrict the supply of food, manipulate and indiscriminately inflate the price of food, pointing out that such practices, which he termed “obnoxious, unscrupulous, and exploitative,” are illegal under the FCCPA.