Updated maximum prices have been issued for 15 essential food items. The price checker has been updated and officers begin verification this week.
The Consumer Affairs Division has issued revised maximum retail prices for 15 essential food items. The revision follows a review of landed import costs over the previous quarter, and takes effect immediately.
A maximum retail price is a ceiling, not a fixed price. Shops may charge less than the published figure and many do, so it is still worth comparing prices between shops in your area.
Which items are affected
- Rice, flour, and brown sugar
- Cooking oil and margarine
- Powdered and evaporated milk
- Tinned fish and tinned corned beef
- Bottled drinking water
The full schedule, including the exact pack sizes each price applies to, is published in the official gazette. Pack size matters: a price set for a one-kilogram bag does not apply to a two-kilogram bag of the same product.
What to do if you are charged more
Keep your receipt and note the shelf price you saw. Both together are far stronger evidence than either on its own. You can then file a complaint through this portal, and an officer will follow it up with the business.
Check before you complain
Publishing the schedule is only half the job. What changes behaviour is consumers knowing the number and asking about it at the till.