IN today’s economy whereby market forces dictates the pricing of goods, it will be interesting to see if Southeast Asia’s largest sandwich bread producer, Gardenia, will embark on a goodwill or perhaps consider corporate social responsibility (CSR) exercise to rescind or postpone the decision to raise its prices starting tomorrow (Sept 1).
This is after Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) made such call to the bread brand as it prepares to raise prices by between 20 sen and 70 sen for the second time this year – the last time being on Dec 1 last year.
“The timing of the proposed raise for what is a common household consumable is most unfortunate and undesirable,” justified PBM vice-president Dr Shatish Kumar in a media statement. “Many Malaysians are still languishing, especially with the global inflation brought on by the war in Ukraine and disruption in the world supply chain.”
Moreover, PBM also voiced concern that he proposed hike will lead to a domino effect in prices of other goods and services.
“It is also possible that competing brands will also take the opportunity to raise prices,” cautioned Dr Shatish.
“While we understand that the decision to raise prices of the bread was due to the rise in prices of raw material, PBM also recognises that the bread manufacturer is part of one of the largest conglomerates in this country. As such, the company would be able to absorb any financial shocks better than smaller enterprises.”
PBM also called on Gardenia executives not to make decisions that will have far-reaching consequences based solely on balance sheet considerations.
“At this stage, the company should in the spirit of Keluarga Malaysia, exemplify good corporate citizenry by absorbing hikes in costs and postpone the decision to raise prices to a more conducive time,” proposed Dr Shatish.
While much of the Malaysian economy has re-opened following earlier restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, he stressed that the country’s economy is still not out of the woods yet.
“Our economy is still chugging along and the full impact of the trickle-down effect has not reached the far ends of the B40 and even M40 groups,” he pointed out. “In other words, to raise the prices of the bread at this juncture will only add unnecessary burden to the people, especially those in the two cohorts.” – Aug 31, 2022
