Twenty (20) traders were warned of prosecution following a market inspection by the Fiji Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC).

FCC chief executive officer Joel Abraham said the inspections was carried out after the National Budget announcement on June 30.

“We have about 500 matters in court and some of those matters take time to get back,” he said.

“Most recently, we’ve had four matters come back with rectifications.

One trader was fined about $250,000 and $10,000 to pay in compensation.”

He said traders were found in breach of common practices like different display of prices and overcharging.

Mr Abraham said with about 800 inspections and surveys carried out so far, the FCCC was committed to ensure that fair trade practices were in place to protect consumers.

“We want to ensure Fijian communities are not taken advantage of and vulnerabilities are not exploited.

We want to make sure businesses make fair trade,” he said.

A pre-budget survey was carried out to establish baseline prices before the survey and inspection was then made.

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