A video showing shoppers falling over one another in one of Royal Supermarket’s branches went viral yesterday – and it was all about cooking oil which was on special offer.
Another video shows police officers maintaining order at one of the branches, while a lady behind the camera said that bottles of cooking oil on special offer had been sold out when people entered the supermarket when it opened the doors to the public.
According to Royal Supermarket’s WeChat account, its “Deal of the Month” is a package of a 5-litre bottle of peanut oil with a 500-ml bottle of rice bran oil for 108 patacas, and the offer was only available between Tuesday and yesterday.
The Consumer Council said in a statement yesterday that once they learnt about the situation, they immediately contacted the supermarket, urging it to take appropriate measures and have extra staff on duty to maintain order for consumers’ safety, and to prevent people from crowding as it would affect the city’s anti-epidemic work.
The statement suggested the supermarket immediately let customers at the shop know if the related products have sold out, and use all possible channels to inform the public.
The statement also urged supermarkets to make proper preparations when they are offering discount sales so that they have measures in place to avoid the situation turning chaotic.
In addition, the statement said that people should not bulk-buy goods that are on discount, and reminded people to cooperate with the government’s COVID-19 measures.
Royal Supermarket has been hit by a “name-and-shame” online campaign since it hiked prices when shoppers on May 1 started to use their government-issued consumption subsidy smartcards worth 3,000 patacas. The Consumer Council reacted to the price hike by withdrawing Royal Supermarket’s “Certified Shop” status.
Luen Fong & San Miu to cut pork prices
Meanwhile, Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday that Luen Fong Food Supermarket and San Miu Supermarket have both agreed to cut fresh pork prices from tomorrow, with Luen Fung vowing a 15-percent price reduction.
The IAM statement quoted its president José Tavares as saying that the two supermarkets have played their role in balancing fresh pork prices, and since prices have been kept stable and supply has been increased, the two supermarkets could further cut the retail price of pork. Tavares said he hoped this could provide alternatives for low pork prices, as well as act as a reference for vendors at wet markets when setting their retail prices for their stock of fresh pork.1 apple for 1 pataca
Photos were circulating on social media yesterday of a shop in Areia Preta selling apples for just one pataca each, attracting scores of people queuing round the block for the bargain.
Shoppers looked for discounted cooking oil crowd a Royal Supermarket despite the government’s repeated advice over the past four months to avoid crowding during the COVID-19 menace. Photo: MPDG
