'Lower bread price as punishment'

Durban - The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Tuesday said it supported the call for bread manufacturers to reduce the price of bread as punishment for price-fixing.

Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said manufacturers should sell bread at the cost of production.

Cosatu was backing a recent suggestion made by the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

"It is not enough for them to apologise. What we want to see are concrete steps by the industry to address the challenge of hunger in our society," said Craven.

Selling bread at cost price would display a true sense of remorse.

Pioneer Foods recently apologised to the public for its anti-competitive activities.

The company said the contravention was unacceptable and an offence to the public at large.

In February, the Competition Tribunal fined Pioneer Foods R196m for its role in a bread price-fixing scandal.

However, the Competition Commission then launched an appeal, requesting a R1.5 billion fine.

Craven said price-fixing on the price of basic foods was nothing less than theft from the poor.

"Cosatu has long argued that fines on the guilty companies are ineffective, as they can be paid from the companies' reserves or even passed back on to the consumers in even higher prices, without any of the offenders feeling the pain and none of the consumers getting any benefit." he said.

- Sapa