The Bangladesh Competition Commission (BCC) has observed recently that all leading companies have raised bottled water prices significantly, affecting consumers in the process.
The commission has urged the Directorate General of National Consumers Protection (DNCRP) to act against any such wrongdoings.
The BCC conducted a drive last month and found that companies, namely, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co, Partex, TK, City and Meghna raised the maximum retail prices (MRP) of their respective brands of 500 millilitre (ml) water bottles.
They raised the prices from Tk15 to Tk20 earlier, up by 33.33%.
The brands are Kinley, Aquafina, Mum, Pushti, Jibon and Fresh respectively
The BCC sent a letter, issued by its member Sowdagar Mustafizur Rahman on August 21, to the senior commerce secretary, DNCRP and all concerned officials of the competition commission.
The letter said the Commission during a drive on August 20 noticed that the companies raised the prices exorbitantly.
It found that the companies set the MRP of their respective bottled water at Tk20 when their wholesale rate was Tk11-12.
The BCC thinks the difference of Tk8-Tk9 from wholesale to the retail rate is irrationally higher, according to the letter.
The letter recommended that the DNCRP take immediate action against this.
Contacted, BCC Chairperson Pradip Ranjan Chakraborty said: "We can recommend to the DNCRP or other concerned agencies for taking initiatives as per the law."
He also said the DNCRP was working on consumers' issues randomly across the country.
The commission thinks their enforcement of laws could help the BCC further in taking proper action against any such wrongdoing.
According to leading beverage companies, private companies now supply more than 63 million litres of bottled water across the country per month.
