The Chief Executives of some of South Africa’s largest retailers and who are members of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), today engaged with Mr. Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, the Competition Commissioner and the National Consumer Commissioner to discuss the recent panic buying of consumer goods which has been experienced across the country. The retailers who participated in the call were Massmart, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Checkers, Spar and Woolworths.
During the call, Minister Patel highlighted the proactive measures that government is implementing to ensure supply availability and affordability, particularly to support pay-day and month-end shopping and ensure the availability of particularly essential food and non-food consumer products.
The measures include applying customer purchasing limits on in-demand products and close price monitoring by the National Consumer Commission and the Competition Commission. As an added measure, retailers have been advised to put up notices in their stores advising customers of purchasing limits to prevent panic buying, and to reiterate their commitment to work with the government and suppliers to ensure consistent availability of products.
The Chief Executives expressed their full support for these measures and have pledged to work with suppliers to deliver affordable product availability. They also committed to maintaining product prices. They stressed that the retail value chain in South Africa, from manufacturing to retailers, is solid and is not forecast to impact the consumer goods sector’s ability to continue to provide for consumers’ needs. In this respect, it was emphasised that there is no need for panic buying which creates unnecessary artificial supply shortages, may affect food security among the vulnerable and could also result in unnecessary food waste.
