There is a distinct risk that unscrupulous businesses will exploit the sudden surge and uncertainty in fuel prices by engaging in price gouging, says the Competition Commission.
Image: Tara Clark | Pexels
The Competition Commission has warned businesses not to gouge prices as oil prices, however, are around the $100 barrel mark because of the Middle East war.
“Businesses that increase prices in advance of any actual fuel cost increases or increase prices by far more than their actual cost increases, risk being prosecuted and found guilty of price gouging,” the commission said.
It adds that this also applies to businesses that continue to charge higher prices after the oil price shock has subsided. Fuel is set to go up on Wednesday, April Fool’s, with some economists seeing petrol R6 a litre higher and an increase of R11 per unit of diesel.
Trading Economics indicates that Brent crude futures rose past $111 per barrel on Friday, reaching their highest level since June 2022 as fresh disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz overshadowed diplomatic gestures.
“While a higher oil price is expected to raise the costs of fuel in South Africa, as well as products and services that use fuel, there is a distinct risk that unscrupulous businesses will exploit the sudden surge and uncertainty in fuel prices by engaging in price gouging, namely, increasing prices beyond what is warranted by the fuel cost increases,” the commission says.
The Competition Commission added that businesses can only increase prices once higher costs are actually incurred. “Product or service margins after the surge in fuel prices should be no higher than the margins prior to the fuel price increase,” it said.
The Commission said the risk of excessive pricing is particularly acute in fuel-dependent sectors, “particularly food products and delivery services”.
This follows a statement from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Programme saying that consumers should monitor the price of food on the shelves ahead of Wednesday's fuel price hike.
“It is important that consumers monitor these price increases, and it’s important for the business sector that will carry the cost of increased supply chains and increased petrol costs to explain to the consumers when these stocks were bought and that they were bought at a higher price,” programme coordinator Mervyn Abrahams was quoted as saying.
Data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group’s Household Affordability Index shows the average household food basket cost R5,383.81 in February 2026
That figure has been relatively stable, rising just R70.59, or 1.3%, year-on-year
A diesel-driven shock changes that trajectory sharply.
Applying a 6%–10% increase:
A single cost shock could add between R300 and R540 a month to food spending. That is several multiples of the recent annual increase.
Under established precedent, companies may only pass through increases linked to actual cost pressures and must do so proportionally. “Businesses that experience fuel cost increases may only increase their prices in proportion to the actual fuel cost increases they experience,” the Commission said.
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