Wholesale face mask price surge

COMMUNITY pharmacists are feeling the heat from consumers accusing them of profiteering from increasing demand for face masks and hand sanitiser, as wholesale prices soar.

Speaking to Pharmacy Daily, Capital Chemist Group Business Manager, Andrew Topp, said prices for face masks jumped from $2.56 a mask when the bushfire crisis was at its peak, to more than $45 earlier this month, while a one litre bottle of hand sanitiser went from $12 to $200 in the same period.

Topp said the pharmacy group had frozen its retail prices for face masks during the bushfires, but as concerns about the coronavirus outbreak grew, wholesale prices went up.

The group noticed the rapidly rising cost of masks after an order arrived with an invoice showing a close to 2,000% increase in the price of individual masks.

“One of our stores ordered masks and saw the price was $45, which they thought was for a box, they only realised it was the price per mask when the order arrived,” he said.

“It’s disappointing [that the wholesaler has increased its prices], because we’re the ones who get blamed [and accused of profiteering].”

Topp noted that with the coronavirus there was little benefit in wearing a face mask for healthy people, despite the high demand, saying hand sanitiser offered more effective protection against the spread of the virus.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia Victorian Branch President, Anthony Tassone, described the wholesaler’s price increases as “unconscionable conduct”, in a tweet last week, adding the Guild had referred the matter to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissioner (PD yesterday).