PUTRAJAYA – The issues of middlemen or the creation of cartels were among the issues deliberated in the first meeting of the special task force on Jihad Against Inflation campaign which was established yesterday.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa who also chairs the task force said the government cannot allow market forces alone to work and will conduct certain interventions.
“We have identified the production system of chicken, eggs, cooking oil and others. There are tendencies to create cartels to ensure they have a business model which maximises profit,” he told a media conference here today.
He said in this regard, each process will be studied at every level to identify which action is out of the framework of existing laws which could be taken to overcome the cartel issue.
“We know the middlemen system has existed for a long time in the country… but it is wrong when they start making excessive profits or cut-throat approach.
“As an example, chickens produced on farms are sold wholesale to distributors (middlemen), who in turn sell them to retailers. Studies show the profit margin for distributors is bigger than the profit margin obtained by retailers or farmers themselves,” he said.
Therefore, the task force will study the situation, as the action is causing a high final cost that has to be borne by consumers.
“If the middleman takes excessive profit and takes advantage of pressing time to burden consumers, then this situation cannot be allowed to go on.
“We cannot allow the approach of the ‘survival of the fittest’ or ‘free-for-all’ situation, there should be certain interventions by the government to look after the interest of consumers at the bottom of the chain,” he said. – Bernama, June 30, 2022
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