Minister Johnston orders elimination of middlemen mafia
Irangika RANGE
Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando
yesterday, ordered the Consumer Affairs Authority Chairman Rumi Marzook,
to take stern action against middlemen who purchase vegetables from
farmers and keep them stored to manipulate prices in the market by
selling them for higher prices later on.
Minister Fernando said that the CAA had received many complaints that
certain middlemen were engaged in purchasing supplies of vegetables from
farmers from islandwide economic centres and re-pricing them at higher
rates and later transferring the vegetables to the market.
These middlemen hide their vegetable stocks and try to show that
there was a shortage of vegetables and then sell them at higher prices
later on. This had resulted in consumers buying vegetables at exorbitant
prices in the market.
The minister has ordered the CAA Chairman to investigate the
complaints and take stern action to eliminate the middlemen mafia in
islandwide economic centres.
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