FCC considering engaging local brand owners in fight against fake products

By Felix Andrew

Fair Competition Commission (FCC)

The Fair Competition Commission (FCC) has announced plans to engage local brand owners in a war against counterfeit goods which have been hurting the economy and slowing down Tanzania’s economic development.


Speaking yesterday in Dar es Salaam after opening a workshop on challenges in the fight against counterfeits, FCC Director General, Dr Frederic Ringo said the commission wants to engage local manufacturers in identifying genuine and counterfeit products.

The one-day workshop attracted over 100 brand owners, Intellectual Property Rights holders and other stakeholders.

“We will speak with them to see how they can collaborate with our staff to distinguish fake and genuine products,” he said.

Dr Ringo said nowadays most unscrupulous producers are manufacturing counterfeit products in a way that it makes it difficult for an ordinary consumer to tell if it’s genuine or not.

He further said trade in counterfeit and pirated products is more prevalent in low income economies due to a number of reasons including low purchasing power of consumers, ignorance and globalization.

According to the Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau (CIB) of the International Chamber of Commerce, counterfeit goods make up to 5 and 7 percent of world trade.

A report by an organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states that in 2007 up to USD 250bn worth of goods in international trade could have been counterfeited.

Dr Ringo said other estimates reveal that a more accurate figure is closer to USD 600bn is lost due to counterfeit trade annually, since the OECD estimates do not include online sales or goods counterfeited land sold within the same country.

In Tanzania, he said the Confederation of Tanzania Industries estimates the magnitude of counterfeit goods to between 15 and 20 percent of all merchandise imports.

He said since 2007, FCC has made substantial achievements in fighting counterfeit goods leading to seizure of goods worth over 3.5bn/-.

Substantial volumes of counterfeit goods have been destroyed, whenever possible the commission has been naming all traders and companies engaged in the trade.
Some brand owners said the local market is also full of counterfeit television, radio and cassette recorder sets, computers, wire cables and even pirated music.

The list also has fake cosmetics, detergents, creams, lotions, toothpastes, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.
Fake clothing includes khangas, shirts, athletic shoes and others. Counterfeit goods also known as offensive goods include building materials such as door locks.

Stakeholders urged the government to enhance punishment against all culprits and asked traders to reject purchases of counterfeits from importers and urged them to report such importers to law enforcement authorities. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN