Paramount Holdings Limited was already punished by MBS and CFTC earlier this month
* Given interim orders to nine farm input distributors and two poultry feed companies to desist from the unconscionable conduct
* Amongst them Paramount Holdings Limited, Export Trading Group (ETG), Farmers World, Malawi Fertilizer Company, Dalitso General Supplies
* Optichem 2000 Limited, Rabs Processors Limited, Brussels Fertilizers Limited and Agora Limited and poultry feed companies CP Feeds and Proto Feeds
* Failure to comply with the issued orders shall result into criminal prosecution in the court of law
By Duncan Mlanjira
The Competition & Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) has this afternoon issued interim orders to nine farm input distribution companies and two poultry feed manufacturing companies requiring them to cease and desist from engaging in excessive pricing and unconscionable conduct.
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The farm input companies that have been issued the interim orders include Export Trading Group (ETG), Farmers World, Malawi Fertilizer Company, Dalitso General Supplies, Paramount Holdings Limited, Optichem 2000 Limited, Rabs Processors Limited, Brussels Fertilizers Limited and Agora Limited.
The poultry feed companies issued the interim orders include CP Feeds and Proto Feeds — all done under Section 23 of the Competition and Fair Trading Act, that gives powers to CFTC to issue an interim order requesting an enterprise to stop engaging in conduct where the Commission, before it reaches a final decision on a matter, believes, on reasonable grounds, that an enterprise has engaged, is engaging, or is proposing to engage, in conduct that constitutes or may constitute an infringement of the Act.
This is contained in a public statement issued by CFTC Chief Executive Officer, Lloyds Vincent Nkhoma, that furthers reiterates that the “Order is issued where it is necessary for the Commission to act as a matter of urgency in preventing serious, irreparable damage to any person or category of persons; or protecting the public interest”.
“Under the issued interim orders, the said companies are not to increase prices and not to hoard the supply of the respective products they sell on the market until a determination is made on the matter.
“It must be noted that failure to comply with the issued orders shall result into criminal prosecution in the court of law and execution in accordance to Section 70 of the Act.”
Vincent Lloyds Nkhoma
Nkhoma thus encourages consumers and the general public to report any alleged violations of the Act through Toll-free line: 2489 and WhatsApp: +265 987 738 749.
At its 71st meeting held on December 13, 2024, when CFTC considered and adjudicated some cases following complaints from consumers, one of the companies that were punished included Paramount Holdings Ltd, which has also been slapped with CFTC’s order to stop from engaging in excessive pricing and unconscionable conduct.
Contracted by the Ministry of Agriculture through the Mega Farm Support Unit to supply fertilizers, Paramount Holdings Ltd was found to have been supplying substandard products after investigations following a complaint received.
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A press statement earlier this month from the CFTC CEO, reported that during its investigations, CFTC established that Paramount Holdings was found to have already been fined by Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) for supplying substandard fertiliser.
This company was contracted by the Ministry of Agriculture through the Mega Farm Support Unit to supply fertilizers NPK (23:10:5+6S+1.02n) and UREA 46%N to maize mega farmers under Malawi Agriculture and Industrial Investment Corporation (MAIIC) credit facility.
Nkhoma reported that CFTC commenced investigations on September 25, 2024 on allegations that Paramount Holdings Ltd was excluding liability for defective goods; misleading conduct and unconscionable conduct.
A complainant alleged that he bought on January 7, 2024, 70 bags of Paramount Gold NPK 23:10:5: 6S+1.Zn fertilizer at MK6,160,000 along with some 108 bags of UREA fertilizer from Paramount Commodities’ shop in Balaka.
“The complainant wanted to use the fertilizer at his farm in Ntcheu,” reports Nkhoma. “However, the complainant suspected that the fertilizer was substandard.
“Following his suspicions, the complainant took samples of the fertilizer to the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) for testing [and] according to the test results, the fertilizer was found to lack crucial major nutrients and that it was substandard.
“The investigations found that the respondent engaged in excluding liability for defective goods and services and engaged in conduct that is likely to mislead the public in contravention of Section 51(b) and Section 51(d) of the CFTA, respectively.
“The Respondent also engaged in unconscionable conduct in contravention of Section 51 (g) of the CFTA.”
It was during investigations that CFTC established that Paramount Holdings was contracted by the Ministry of Agriculture for the supply of the fertilizers.
It was also found that over the years, Paramount Holdings has been importing fertilizers under the brand of ‘Paramount Gold’ composed of the following types: NPK 23:10:5+6S+1.0Zn, UREA 46%N, CAN27%N, Ammonium Sulphate 21%N:24%S.
The fertilizer originates from different countries with more quantity imported from United Arab Emirates (UAE).
It was also found that MBS already fined Paramount Holdings for supplying substandard fertiliser and was also instructed to address the non-conformity of the fertilizers to ensure that the fertiliser conforms to standard requirements.
“MBS was also mandated to confiscate the defective batch of NPK fertilizer to prevent further sale of the commodity. However, the concerned batch was sold out/out of stock at that time, hence no further action was undertaken.”
CFTC thus considered that Paramount Holdings had already paid a fine imposed by MBS and as a result could not impose another fine — but following deliberations, the Commissioners ordered the company to refund the complainant MK6,160,000 being the amount paid to purchase the defective fertiliser.
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