Trade Inspection (TI) personnel will check the prices of apples, blueberries, potatoes and cabbage at different levels of the trading chain. This will make it possible to estimate the earnings of farmers, intermediaries and retail chains from the sales of these products.
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The audit aims to examine how the prices of Polish fruits and vegetables are shaped along the entire supply chain, starting from retail chain stores, through subsequent intermediary entities, up to the agricultural producers themselves. The fruit and vegetables to be audited include the most popular varieties of apples, blueberries, potatoes and white cabbage.
"Low fruit and vegetable purchase prices are causing concern among farmers and fruit growers. On the other hand, consumers complain about the high prices they have to pay for such products at stores. As such, I have instructed the Trade Inspection to gather evidence that would enable us to assess the situation in the Polish fruit and vegetable market. The inspectors will examine how the prices of individual product batches are shaped and whether it is a result of market factors", said UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny.
The audits will be carried out by the Trade Inspection operating under UOKiK President. TI personnel will start their audits from large retail chains and then proceed in retrograde to check the previous entities in the product supply chain. This will help determine the prices of Polish fruit and vegetables and the margins achieved when selling to downstream buyers, including those of the intermediaries and retail chains.
This is another action taken by UOKiK President to check how fruit pricing mechanisms are shaped. Last week saw the commencement of audits at apple purchasing centres. Trade Inspection personnel is now verifying whether apple purchasers and processors could be taking advantage of the difficult situation of farmers and fruit growers. ■
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