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Merge 104.8 | 20 May 2020
Oman’s Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) has issued a statement addressing the price of face-masks, and has cautioned retailers and pharmacies in the Sultanate to refrain from hiking up prices.
In a statement issued online, the PACP affirmed that the price of face-masks have seen a drastic increase internationally since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, due to an increase in import prices in general, coupled with the unprecedented demand for such products which have led to shortages in the global market.
The PACP also stated that they are checking import prices through documentation at customs, and confirms that the Ministry of Health allows an increase of 15 per cent each to the supplier and to the distributor.
Any further increase in price above these regulations will incur legal action against the retailer or distributor. In its statement, the PACP assured the public that the prices of face-masks in Oman have remained the same since the start of the global COVID-19 crisis and have not changed since the Supreme Committee’s decision to make them compulsory to wear in public.
The PACP confirmed that it has been monitoring the prices of face-masks in the local market since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, and any retailer or distributor found to be tampering with the price will be subject to an immediate fine.
The authority has also called upon the public to cooperate in reporting any price increases they observe, but have noted that prices should be compared only to those since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, and not before, and that it’s important that they be compared from the same selling point — and not between different shopping centres.
(Also read: COVID-19: All Eid gatherings banned in Oman, face-masks now compulsory in public.)
