Pioneer complies with bread price ruling

Johannesburg - The Competition Commission said on Tuesday that Pioneer Food Group [JSE:PFG] informed it that it had started with bread and flour price reductions, which were part of the package of penalties imposed on it for anticompetitive behaviour.

The price of standard white and brown loaves of bread was reduced by an average of 30c on December 3. This price reduction is in addition to any other promotional discount to retailers.

The price of flour was reduced by an average of R350 per tonne as from December 10.

Pioneer's pricing commitment in terms of the settlement agreement amounts to a reduction of R160m in its gross profit, when benchmarked against a similar period in the previous year.

Pioneer will submit progress reports to the commission every second month, and Price Waterhouse Coopers will review and confirm the attainment of the price reduction commitment.

"The commission has engaged with large supermarket chains on passing-on price reductions to end consumers. The commission will also independently monitor the retail and wholesale prices of flour and bread products," the antitrust body said in a statement.