KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 8): Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa has reminded industry players, including feedmillers, not to enter into pacts to set prices which violate the rules of free competition.
Industries and companies that collude to set prices can be deemed to have violated the rules of free competition, said the communications and multimedia minister.
“We would like to remind all businesses not to resort to any action that involves a pact to set prices and violate the rules of free competition.
“Such act can cause prices to be controlled by only a group of traders who dominate the market, and that is not allowed under the laws of our country,” Annuar said at a press conference in Parliament on Monday (Aug 8).
Last Friday, the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) issued a proposed decision against five feedmillers, which include Bursa Malaysia listed companies Leong Hup International Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary Leong Hup Feedmill Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Malayan Flour Mills Bhd's partially owned Dindings Poultry Development Centre Sdn Bhd and PPB Group Bhd's 80%-owned FFM Bhd.
The others involved are Gold Coin Feedmills (M) Sdn Bhd under Gold Coin Group and PK Agro-Industrial Products (M) Sdn Bhd under CP Malaysia.
MyCC had provisionally found the five enterprises to have infringed Section 4 of the Competition Acts 2010 by entering into anti-competitive agreements and/or concerted practices in increasing the price quantum of poultry feed that contains soybean meal and maize as its main ingredients, between early 2020 and mid 2022.
Meanwhile, Annuar said the sale of cooking oil in bottles under the maximum cooking oil price control implementation which began on Monday has found that almost all retailers have complied with the maximum price limit that has been set.
“As of this afternoon, we have monitored almost 200 business premises nationwide that are involved in selling cooking oil at the retail level, and we are satisfied that all the premises that have been visited by the enforcement officers show almost 100% compliance with the maximum price limit that has been set.
“In fact, of the premises that we have checked until this afternoon, 17% of them are selling at lower than the maximum price set,” he added.
Based on the result of the first day’s inspection, cooking oil in bottles were found to be sold at RM6.70 to RM7.70 (1kg), RM12.70 to RM14.70 (2kg), RM21.30 to RM21.70 (3kg) and RM28.90 to RM34.70 (5kg).
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