Mineral water, beverage producers in crosshairs of price manipulation probe

The authorities have initiated a probe after mineral water and beverage manufacturers raised product prices afresh a couple of months ago despite the items witnessing price surges last year.
Market monitoring agencies convened on Tuesday to examine the justification behind the unusual price increase of these items amid greedflation news making the headlines.
The Bangladesh Competition Commission organised the meeting at its office, chaired by the commission Chairman Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty, according to sources. Representatives from the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Special Branch, and the National Security Intelligence (NSI) were also in attendance.
During the meeting, the Competition Commission requested the Trade and Tariff Commission to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the entire value chain of soft drinks and mineral water.
Officials said the assessment intends to determine production costs and recommend a maximum retail price.
Meanwhile, the revenue board has been asked to assess the import costs of essential inputs for soft drinks and commercial mineral water.
This decision comes in response to, what officials say is "an unusual increase", in the prices of both mineral water and soft drinks.
According to grocery stores, various brands of bottled mineral water, such as Partex, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, have seen price increases of at least 25 per cent.
For example, a half-litre water bottle's price has risen to Tk 20 from Tk 15 in just the past three months.
An investigation by the Competition Commission suggests that the wholesale price of a water bottle is between Tk 11-12, while the retail price is Tk 20, which is considered "unethical".
Water companies previously raised the prices of one to five-litre bottles by 25 per cent last year, citing an increase in the price of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles as the primary reason.
Meanwhile, the prices of soft drinks have surged by 20-25 per cent in the last few months, which companies have attributed to rising import costs of raw materials.
Leading soft drink and mineral water companies were absent from the Tuesday meeting, prompting the Competition Commission to schedule another round of meetings with the major local market players, according to Competition Commission Member Hafizur Rahman.
According to him, multinational companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are the major players in the local beverage market.
"We hope they will join us in the next meeting, while in the meantime, the Trade and Tariff Commission will be able to provide us with their market assessment," he added.

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