Consumer Council Slams Supermarket's Price Freeze

The Consumer Council has criticised Wellcome supermarket’s offer to freeze the price of 300 products, saying the offer lacked transparency and that many of the products were hard to find.

The watchdog’s chief executive Gilly Wong told an RTHK radio programme that during a quick search of the some of the supermarket chain's stores over the weekend, its investigators were only able to find 100 of those products.

She said that of the products that investigators did find, only three were not under Wellcome's own brand.

Wong said that it was easier for supermarkets to control the costs of their own brands, and said supermarkets should freeze the price of products that are the most popular and expensive – such as infant formulas and rice – so that it benefits more people.

Two major supermarket chains, ParknShop and Wellcome, are required to pass on to consumers some of the government's anti-epidemic funding they've received. But both have been accused of not going far enough to help those in need.