The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has said that disregard for the applicable competition law and consumer welfare within the dairy industry is alarming and it must be ensured that such conducts are dealt with an iron hand and are not ignored.

The CCP has endorsed the findings of Pakistan Dairy Association that a milk company has committed deceptive marketing practices by declaring milk products of all other companies as unfit for human consumption. In this regard, the CCP has issued an order against the said company here on Thursday.

According to the order of the CCP, the commission has imposed a huge penalty of Rs 35,000,000 on the said company. The CCP declared that the company deliberately withheld the information from the consumers and on its own declared the products of all other competitors as unhygienic and unhealthy for human consumption.

The upshot of the discussion is that the company has failed to substantiate the claims made in the advertisements for the milk products and their comparison with milk products of other companies and was itself engaged in deceptive marketing practices.

The marketing campaign of the company is false and misleading and in fact capable of harming the business interest of members of the Pakistan Dairy Association as well as other competing undertakings operating within the relevant market, CCP maintained.

The CCP noted that in present increasingly health-conscious environment, consumers are getting more attuned to the health related claims made by the marketers, especially those marketed to children and parents. Each year, millions of rupees arc spent on marketing of the products to the elderly, adults, youth, children and adolescents.

By virtue of this order, the Commission hereby deems it appropriate to highlight the importance of truthful advertising. The business undertakings need to pay special care that their advertising and promotional material, irrespective of the medium, must truthfully demonstrate the pricing, character, method or place of production, properties, suitability for use and quality of their products and services.

It is established that the company has engaged in deceptive marketing practices prohibited under Section 10 (I) of the Act read with Section I0(2) (a), (b) & (c) of the Competition Act. Furthermore, the conduct of the milk company cannot be taken leniently as the company deliberately withheld the information from the consumers and on its own declared the products of all other competitors to be unhygienic and unhealthy for human consumption.

"Disregard for the applicable law and the consumer welfare is alarming and we must ensure that such conducts arc dealt with an iron hand and are not ignored. Hence, we arc constrained to impose a penalty of Rs 35,000,000 on the respondent for violation of Section 10 of the Act," the CCP said.

The milk company is hereby reprimanded to ensure responsible behavior in future with respect to the marketing of its business and is directed to cease and desist from making any claim with reference to its products in future without any proper and concrete basis, the CCP added.