FCCPC Tackles Poultry, Packaging Cartels Over Price Fixing

From the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Wednesday came a startling revelation of how cartels in the poultry and packaging industries manipulate the market to keep prices high despite government’s sundry interventions.

The disclosure was made by the Commission’s EVC/CEO, Tunji Bello, at a stakeholders meeting in Uyo in continuation of FCCPC’ nationwide advocacy against exploitative pricing in the market.

FCCPC already hosted similar engagements in several states across the federation.

Its pronouncement in Uyo was based on an investigation it had carried out nationwide.

According to Bello, the poultry cartel consisting of big holders dictate the price for the smallholders to sell their products.

Revealing the Commission’s finding in one of the major cities, the FCCPC boss said: “The small poultry owners used to sell a day-old chick for between N480 and N590 and they still made a profit. But not after the arrival of two big players in the market. I choose to withhold their names at this point.

“They (big players) brought in big money and expanded the market and expectedly they were soon in a position to control 80 to 90 per cent of the poultry market in the city.”

Bello’s packed audience consisted of industry captains, MSMEs, market leaders, farmers, transporters, service providers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The two big poultry players, he said, “used their clout and financial muscle to hijack the local poultry farmers association and now dictated that a day-old chick be sold at N1,350 in a curious reversal of the law of the economy of scale which otherwise stipulates that the more you produce, the less the unit price.”

This, said Bello, explained why prices of products remained high despite government’s sundry supports to the poultry industry.

In the last one year, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has supported poultry farmers with broilers, vitamins, feeds and cash through various interventions across the nation’s six geopolitical zones.

Despite these, prices of poultry products have continued to skyrocket.

For instance, starter mash which sold for N11,000 in October 2023 rose to N14,000 in January this year, N16,500 in March, N21,500 in July and N23,500 in October.

Also, the FCCPC boss stated that the high prices of drinks in recyclable packs was substantially caused by “unfair pricing” dictated by a cartel in the packaging sector.

“The cartel in the packaging sector consists of five big players who are in the business of importing and providing local manufacturers with packaging materials. They operate in a mafia-like fashion such that if you choose to leave one of them to check the price of the other, before you would reach the next factory, the first seller would have tipped off the second seller to quote the same price,” Bello lamented.

On why those engaged in such sharp practices have not been sanctioned, Bello stated that FCCPC chose dialogue as the first option “in the spirit of democracy” instead of enforcing the FCCP act which prescribes stiff penalties ranging from heavy fines to jail terms.

He called on the business community in Akwa Ibom to collaborate with FCCPC to curb exploitative pricing as well as sanitise the markets.

To cushion the harsh effects of ongoing economic reforms, Bello said President Bola Tinubu has introduced a number relief measures like the removal of tariff on food imports, VAT on pharmaceuticals and medical devices, tax waivers for businesses and public transportation as well as providing easy credit for the conversion of vehicles from petrol to CNG.

“It is only fair that our businessmen and businesswomen and traders share such gains with consumers in the form of reduced prices,” the FCCPC boss added.