Call to fight fake products

By CLARISSA MOI
THE Government should pay more attention to the sale of counterfeit products in the country, says Brian Bell Group chief executive officer Cameron Mackellar.
Mackellar told The National when asked of his views about that the sale of counterfeit products.
“It’s highly likely these businesses selling counterfeit products will also be avoiding paying duty, tax or any other type of necessary government charges,” he said.
“They essentially rip off consumer as the quality is normally much lower than any authorised or licensed product. And they certainly don’t pay any royalty to the rightful owner of the product licence.
“We’ve recently seen lots of counterfeit products impacting tobacco and beer (specifically SP) in PNG.
“But counterfeiting is across a vast number of other categories including fashion, sports, footwear, agriculture, electrical and many others.
“It naturally creates an uneven playing field for those doing the right thing and complying with laws and taxes.
“Counterfeit is always a substandard product.
“In the case of counterfeit or inferior electrical wiring, it could cause harm, fire or even death to those unsuspecting consumers.
“People need to be careful of what they are buying, particularly with that product or category.
“All reputable businesses would like to see more done in this space to discourage counterfeit products and break the networks in PNG allowing this. It doesn’t benefit PNG.”
On the sale of counterfeit PNG Rugby Football League merchandise for SP Hunters, PNG Kumuls and PNG Orchids in certain shops in Port Moresby, Mackellar said: “We are an official provider of merchandise to PNG Rugby League and the Hunters.
“Counterfeit or pirated product is a scourge in PNG and needs much greater action from Government and industry bodies to rid the country of it.”
Meanwhile, Jack’s of PNG corporate manager business Yogesh Samy said as the official distributor, “we pay royalties to PNGRFL to develop their team, brand name and support the country”.
“We are producing high quality products,” he said. “That’s why we don’t want free-riders.
“They are just copying our designs and selling (low quality) in the market for cheaper prices.”