Producers Are Being Deceptive, Gradually Increasing Sugar Prices So Consumers Don’t Notice, Says Chilingaryan

The first price increase in the sugar market was recorded several months ago, after which the price remained stable for a long time, but now the prices are rising again. This was stated by Karen Chilingaryan, the president of the Consumers’ Advisory Center NGO, in an interview with 'Factinfo'.

According to him, producers are approaching this issue in a cunning way, gradually raising sugar prices so that consumers do not notice. 'For example, they raise the prices by 5-10 drams every week or two, so consumers do not realize the increase. But in the end, it turns out that the price of sugar rises day by day,' said Chilingaryan.

He noted that initially, the increase in sugar prices was attributed to rising international prices and the depreciation of the dram. However, in recent months the dram has appreciated, yet for unclear reasons, these products continue to rise in price.

“Interestingly, loose sugar is relatively cheaper than packaged sugar. The price difference between loose and packaged sugar is very large. When you ask what the reason is, they say that packaging is labor-intensive, but the difference for packaging can be 2-5 percent, but not 20 percent; that’s not normal. For example, at one point, 1 kg of loose sugar was priced at 380 drams, while packaged sugar was around 450 drams, which is a significant difference,” emphasized Chilingaryan, adding that the relevant authorities need to investigate this issue to determine why such a large discrepancy exists.

When asked if the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC) has functions to curb sugar price increases, Chilingaryan indicated that the SCPEC deals with entities that hold a dominant position and have a monopoly.

'The problem is that some producers, taking advantage of the opportunity, act more cunningly and occupy a dominant position, but they fragment their business and establish different producers. Therefore, the SCPEC cannot address these issues and determine whether there is any fraud involved,' said Chilingaryan.