By RACHNA LAL and RANOBA BAOA
FMF Foods Limited has acknowledged the price control on certain items by the Commerce Commission has is a way made the company competitive.
FMF Foods Limited chief executive, Ram Bajekal, made these comments at the 2013 Fiji Business Forum held at Holiday Inn Suva yesterday.
“Today, the cost at which we mill flour allows us to beat Australian flour manufacturers in the Pacific island countries,” he said.
“We have virtually replaced, I think between Punjas and us, Australian flour in the Pacific island countries and that shows how competitive we have gone in our manufacturing.”
Mr Bajekal stressed this did not mean they have become competitive without making money.
“But whatever money we need to make comes out of becoming volume driven and I think that is one of the point that Dr Mahendra Reddy has made,” he said.
“It has to be volume-driven and not profit-margin driven and so it has made us competitive.”
Looking at affordability
Mr Bajekal said one of the things he would want the Commerce Commission to look at was affordability to the people.
“I think one of the things that we have been able to do certainly from FMF is that every single product of ours can be purchased by the every one of the 800,000 people in Fiji,” he said.
“I do not think that of our product can be identified which cannot be purchased by every single one of the 800,000 people in Fiji barring Calrose Rice which is Commerce Commission price controlled.
“So that brings another question about is in some way, the pricing beginning to create inefficiencies.”
Suggestion
Therefore, Mr Bajekal has suggested items can be price controlled, but this needs to be followed up with research.
“Because then you will know then if you have made an impact or what you are seeking to do has made an impact or not,” he said.