FCCPC Seeks Regulatory Action Over Rising Sugar Prices

FCCPC Seeks Regulatory Action Over Rising Sugar Prices

By Hussaini Ibrahim Kafi

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has raised an alarm over the rising price of sugar in the country while calling for regulatory intervention from the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC).

Executive vice chairman of FCCPC, Mr Babatunde Irukera, who disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja when he led the management of the commission to the headquarters of the NSDC on a courtesy visit said the visit was vital owing to the importance of sugar as a commodity.

He said: “This courtesy visit is the first to this agency in over six years since I assumed office which underscores because competitive regulation as the fairest price for anything is a price negotiated in a market price that is fair and undistorted.

“One of the staple foods consumed by Nigerians is sugar and we are desiring to produce the sugar we consume and consume the sugar we produce which is why the Sugar Council exists to monitor the transition to self-sufficiency and to ensure the process is not chaotic.

“However, the current price of sugar is not that which we expect and consumers are already feeling the heat. We know the production is sensible but if it is not impacting people’s homes, then it is just a fraction and that’s where the FCCPC comes in we want to see how every product hits the pocket of consumers at a fair price and the NSDC as a regulator wades in to ensure that whether imported or locally produced, consumers will get it at an affordable price.”

In his response, the executive secretary of the council, Kamar Barkrin, noted that the agency as part of its mandate has supported the development of the sugar sector in driving self-sufficiency and at the same time regulated the space for efficiency.

On the increased prices, he pledged the collaboration of his agency with FCCPC “to ensure a disciplined market where consumers will get a fair price of sugar commodities”,