As part of efforts to control food price, the Rapid Control Brigade (BCR) of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and the Promotion of SMEs handled 1,365 cases out of the 2,000 complaints recorded, as indicated by Commander Armand Alexandre Koffi during a video interview according to Abidjan.net.
Commander Koffi revealed that among the 966 establishments and businesses reported by his services, 399 were in order, respecting the capped prices and correctly displaying the prices of their products. Some establishments were sealed, and their owners generally paid fines ranging from 100 to 500,000 CFA francs for some, and from 100,000 to 100 million CFA francs for others.
According to the head of the BCR, the traditional distribution circuit, characterized by a strong presence of stores, is having difficulty respecting the basic rules in terms of marketing, in particular the display of prices.
He called on the population to be extra vigilant during the end-of-year holiday period. He mentioned a case where a structure had low displayed prices, but the actual amount at the checkout was higher. In addition, he pointed out that many merchants, in the context of promotions and sales, do not always match the reduced prices with the actual prices at checkout. For example, some merchants displayed a reduction of -50%, when in reality it was -35%.
