Dear Editor,
Is there a law that governs the amount of profit a supermarket makes on food items? Is there a profit margin that governs the pricing of basic food items on St Maarten? If there is one, is it being enforced? My curiosity about the aforementioned was spurred when on the June 29, I purchased 4 boxes of Soy-Vida (Gloria Product) from Sunny Foods Supermarket at Fls. 4.15 each.
After checking my receipt and other supermarkets to compare the price, I returned to the establishment to inform management that the item was overpriced. A supervisor checked the price in the computer and affirmed that it was correct. When I tried to explain that the item was overpriced, I was additionally informed that, "This is Sunny Foods." Should we, consumers, assume that this supermarket could sell an item at whatever cost comes to mind?
To date, other supermarkets still sell the item for approximately Fls. 3.00, conversely, Sunny Foods exhibits the similar price on the shelf, but the cash register does not reflect same. Is it alright for these establishments to have such variations in prices on basic food items?
Did Sunny Food purchase a new batch of this beverage at a higher cost, hence, the escalation of the retail price one guilder something more than the previous batch? Did the other supermarkets purchase an extra-large batch of soy beverage permitting them to retain the original cost?
I believe there needs to be a designated price mark-up on basic food items, and stricter supervision of the price application supermarkets employ.
Frugal consumer,
Tracy Joseph
