Supermarkets Found
Overcharging For Rice
The price of rice in Costa Rica is regulated and the Ministerio de
Economía, Industria y Comercio (MEIC) has the responsibility to
ensure that retailers do not overcharge customers, such as the case
in the latest investigation, where consumers were paying up to ¢400
colones more for a 2 Kg bag of 80/20 rice.
The MEIC found a number of retailers, including big supermarket
chains like Automercado, to selling rice at higher than the
established prices, during a visit to more than 20 supermarkets last
week.
Some of the stores found selling price at a high cost were the Súper
Cristal in Curridabat, Súper 98 en Río Segundo de Alajuela, Súper
Weid in Moravia, and the Automercado in Plaza Mayor in Rohrmoser,
among others.
According to article 57 of the Ley de Promoción de la Competencia y
Defensa Efectiva del Consumidor, the retailers are exposed to a fine
of up to 40 minimum salaries if found guilty of overcharging
customers.
The established prices for a kilo of rice is as folows:
60/40 ¢565
70/30 ¢600
80/20 ¢618
90/10 ¢653
95/5 ¢671
100% ¢689
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