Move to ease price-fixing concerns

Lawmakers expressed concern yesterday that supermarket chains are involved in price fixing as some products were priced the same, which could harm consumer rights.

The Consumer Council earlier said grocery prices in supermarkets rose 2.1 percent last year, higher than the 1.9 percent increase in the Composite Consumer Price Index.

But the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Algernon Yau Ying-wah, told lawmakers in the Legislative Council that anti-competition behavior could not be determined solely based on similar prices of products, and many new supermarkets and online stores have been set up in the past few years.

Yau also said the Competition Commission would handle cases and complaints related to people's livelihood first.

In response to the supermarket prices, a commission spokesman said that cases were under investigation and could not be revealed.

The watchdog yesterday launched a publicity campaign on resale price maintenance, or RPM, to deepen public understanding of the issue.

The campaign began yesterday with TV and radio announcements, a micro movie, booklets and lectures.

RPM refers to a supplier setting a fixed or minimum resale price for distributors, including retailers, when they resell a product. The act may reduce competition between distributors, eventually resulting in higher prices and harming consumers' rights.

The short videos feature veteran actor Philip Keung Ho-man and the micro film stars Peter Chan Charm-man and YouTuber Miss Hunny.

The movie tells the story of a young couple buying gifts but discover they cost the same across different stores, and the main characters warn merchants that this act might constitute RPM and contravene the Competition Ordinance.

The commission chief executive, Rasul Butt, said it was important to educate the business sector and the public about resale price maintenance, as the behavior was less obvious and straightforward, compared with other anti-competitive conduct.

tsdreporter5@singtaonewscorp.com