The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) has encouraged the public to report suspicious price exploitations by some retailers, amidst continuous food and goods price increases.

In a recent interview with Nampa, NaCC Corporate Communications Practitioner Dina ||Gowases said retailers in Namibia are not subjected to price caps as they operate in a space where the market dictates the ultimate price, noting however that in events where retailers collaborate to increase the prices of goods and services, the commission may intervene to investigate possible collusive conduct.

“There are isolated circumstances where some retailers may have a competitive advantage over others such as retailers that are in gated communities or alone in a specific town or location… In this instance, such a retailer may be inclined to raise prices to the detriment of consumers as it faces no competition in that area,” said ||Gowases.

She explained the commission can only ensure fair price competition and consumer choices through monitoring prices of goods and services in the market when it receives complaints or information from the general public.

||Gowases emphasised that NaCC does not prescribe prices that should be charged and only intervenes when it is suspected that prices are excessive.

“When suspected excessive prices are reported it may then carry out a price-cost test to determine reasonability. General price increases are usually regulated at the macroeconomic level, through instruments such as the monetary policy which is the custodian of the Bank of Namibia,” she noted.

She further indicated that about 20 large supermarkets in various locations across Namibia were reported to the commission in 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak for price exploitations up to 600 per cent. Preliminary cost analyses however found that most cases were a result of imported limited supply and high transportation costs due to global oil price increases.

||Gowases noted that the commission’s main challenge is the competition jurisprudence which is still in its infancy stage, adding that certain conduct is not always detectable as it is done in secrecy.

“NaCC wishes to encourage the public to report any potential anti-competitive behaviour in any sector of the Namibian economy. NaCC has a Corporate Leniency Programme where firms that have been engaging in collusive behaviour can self-report and be afforded leniency for their conduct,” she said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency