The Fiji Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC) has opened an investigation into a trader suspected of hoarding fuel after a nationwide monitoring exercise that flagged localized shortages and irregular market behaviour, the commission’s chief executive said on Thursday.
Senikavika Jiuta told reporters the probe emerged from a field survey carried out by FCCC teams that completed 478 inspections of retailers, distributors and service stations around the country. “We are currently investigating a trader suspected of hoarding and have also noted localised issues, including supply constraints, logistical challenges, delivery delays and distribution limitations within each division,” she said.
The monitoring focused on checking compliance with regulatory requirements and reviewing distribution patterns and supply chain movements, Ms Jiuta said. Officers examined frequency of fuel deliveries and replenishment schedules to determine whether delays or shortfalls were the result of market manipulation or genuine logistical problems. In several cases, the enforcement team found that pumps had placed orders on time but experienced delays at the supplier end, she added.
Key observations from the field included an influx of panic buying and stockpiling by consumers and what investigators described as temporary artificial shortages of unleaded fuel. Those shortages, Ms Jiuta said, were short-lived: suppliers subsequently replenished stocks and the FCCC’s monitoring confirmed an overall stable fuel supply with adequate stock levels available across the divisions. Traders surveyed reported they had sufficient supply and there were no widespread, systemic shortages.
The FCCC’s checks also covered liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stock levels as part of the broader monitoring effort. Ms Jiuta said the agency’s teams have the mandate and enforcement tools to act where deliberate withholding of stock is detected, and warned that traders found to be manipulating supply to drive up prices would face severe consequences. Earlier this month the commission had publicly urged consumers to use fuel responsibly and warned traders against hoarding — defined by the FCCC as deliberately withholding stock to create scarcity and inflate prices.
The probe into the single trader is the latest development in the commission’s stepped-up market surveillance, which it says is intended to reassure consumers and deter anti-competitive conduct amid heightened demand. Ms Jiuta did not name the trader or disclose whether any charges or penalties are imminent, saying the investigation is ongoing and that officers are continuing to gather and verify evidence.
By confirming that temporary shortages were largely driven by consumer panic and supplier delivery issues rather than widespread stock removal by retailers, the FCCC aims to calm concerns of prolonged scarcity. The commission said it will publish further findings and take enforcement action as necessary once its probe concludes.
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