Price fixing makes market day less of a bargain

Are shoppers looking in vain for bargains on market day? Keystone

Allegations have surfaced that farmers in Switzerland are fixing the price of fruit and vegetables sold on market day.

swissinfo paid a visit to one Swiss market and uncovered evidence that some traders are being pressured into raising their prices to match those of rival stallholders.

The town of Solothurn lies 30 kilometres north of the Swiss capital, Bern, and plays host to a popular open-air market twice a week throughout the year.

One farmer said he had been forced to raise the price of eggs at his Solothurn market stall.

“I wanted to sell them for SFr0.50 a piece,” he said, “but then ‘they’ came along and told me that it would be better to sell my eggs at SFr0.60 just like everybody else.”

Forces at work?

The farmer – who asked not to be named – would not reveal who had pushed him to raise his prices, saying only that it was not the local authorities who collect the rent for his stand.

Officials in Solothurn claim they play no part in determining the prices at which market products are sold.

“We don’t get involved in how prices are worked out at the fruit and vegetable markets,” said one official.

When contacted by swissinfo, the authorities in St Gallen, Basel, Bern and Geneva all gave a similar answer.

But Ernst Germann, an official from the city of Zurich, made it clear that the blame for price fixing lay with the farmers themselves.

“Often they fight among themselves when one of them undercuts the others by offering a lower price for something,” said Germann.

Recommended price

Fruit and vegetable producers and traders meet regularly to discuss market trends and make recommendations about prices.

Hanspeter Kocher, from canton Bern’s agricultural office, said price recommendations varied across the country.

“As a rule, Basel is more expensive than Bern,” said Kocher. “But we are only talking here about recommended retail prices. We’re not in the business of putting pressure on traders.”

But he concedes that it is sometimes necessary to make sure traders and wholesalers play by the rules.

Price pressure

Patrik Ducrey, the deputy director of Switzerland’s Competition Commission, believes most traders follow the recommendations. But he denies that shoppers are getting a raw deal.

“I don’t think that price fixing has a negative impact on the consumer. There are many other suppliers, such as the big supermarket chains, which are competitive and where you can buy the same products,” Ducrey said.

But he adds that his office will continue to monitor the situation and will not shy away from intervening in future if necessary.

“If price fixing becomes more established, we’ll have to talk to the people concerned and remind them that they should be focusing more on keeping the market clean and tidy and less on how much they should all be selling their produce for.”

swissinfo, Urs Maurer

Key facts

Many Swiss towns have a weekly fruit and vegetable market.
The market traders are free to fix their own prices.
Cantons and communities are responsible for the markets and for ensuring that produce is sold according to Swiss food safety laws.