The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
4
WQ.41/2019
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE
MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TOURISM, SPORT AND CULTURE
BY DEPUTY J.M. MAÇON OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 29th JANUARY 2019
Question
What is the Minister's assessment of the implications for consumers of there being only one importer of frozen food to Jersey; and will he advise what action, if any, his department is taking in order to promote competition and to prevent the continuation of a monopoly in this area?
Answer
There are multiple importers of frozen food into Jersey.
In June 2017 Frontier Economics & SYSTRA produced a report for CICRA entitled Review of Customer Choice in the Freight Logistics Sector between the UK and the Channel Islands'. The report found that customers are generally satisfied with the freight marketLarge customers acknowledge that they have little choice of providerHowever, all of the customers are broadly satisfied with the level of service and price. Also, there are potentially other options (such as self-supply) available if customers were no longer content with the current providers'.
Having a restricted choice of supplier (as with refrigerated and frozen food) does not mean the market is not working well for consumers as the freight market is open to competition, with comparatively low barriers to entry. In addition, suppliers are likely to be faced with a number of powerful customers who are able to use their buying power to obtain competitive prices and terms.
CICRA could be directed to undertake further analysis of the sector if the position changed.