Vol. 418 No. 8
43 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he has satisfied himself that the bread price war over the past four years has resulted in a permanent reduction in prices to the consumer; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
At present the consumer faces a range of prices for standard white sliced bead. No one can guarantee that current prices will be permanent. Competition in the bread industry is frequently described as "price wars" and there has been a number of such rounds of price cutting at retail level in recent years. As I have said many times in this House I welcome competition, as long as it remains within the law. I would be concerned if there was no such evidence of price competition. In this respect I am pleased to say that the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade was successful in a recent action against a number of bakeries which had attempted to fix the price of bread.
