The Hindu Business Line : Slimmer packages, same price

With high inflation rates, manufacturers and traders have started deceptive practices to fool consumers into buying their products by varying the quantity, quality and price and also by adulteration. Several manufacturers have reduced the quantity of contents in their packages, while retaining the same price. Soap powders and detergents, biscuits are examples.

In other cases, the quality, for instance, of soap powders, has been changed to a lower strength and composition to produce less effective washing of the same quantity of clothes, requiring use of higher quantities. Sometimes, while offering the same quality of product, the new packaging describes the product as “Super” or ‘Improved’ or ‘Superior’ or ‘Export Quality’, misleading buyers.

Hotels are charging prices that have no relation to their costs or profits or inflation. In fact, the word ‘inflation’ is only a justification for them to hike prices. Consider, for example, the prices of idli-sambar-chutney charged at Udupi hotels: This could vary from Rs 10 to Rs 20 in the same class of hotels in the same areas, when the cost of inputs hardly vary to justify such variation in prices for the same item of the same quality and quantity.

With the recent hike in price of milk, the vendors of milk have jacked up the price by Re 1 on the printed price, explaining that it is for the cold storage charges — they don’t do this for ice-creams — while non-packaged milk suppliers retain their right to add water and other supplements thereto at the cost of your health.

Adulteration is also rampant in edible oils, because of all-time-high prices. Palm oil is being adulterated with coconut oil, and artificial flavours imparted thereto. Prices of sesame oil have touched Rs 150 per litre, from Rs 80 hardly six months ago, leading to similar adulteration.

While several farmers do not get remunerative prices for their produce, it appears that the traders and the middlemen are out to make a killing by any means under the guise of inflation. It is time the Government intervened in the matter.

S. Narayan e-mail

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