The supermarket owners will be holding a press conference tomorrow.

Inserts put in last Sunday’s papers by the eight supermarkets – Tower, Shopwise, Shoppers, Trolees, Price Chopper (both at Park Towers and at Fgura), Lasco and Carters – listed a number of special offers available at each outlet and also launched a prize scheme.

The Office of Fair Trading has informed them that setting up a cartel is an infringement of Maltese law and ordered them to desist.

The owners deny they have set up a cartel and claim they are still independent. This special offer cannot be interpreted as price fixing, they claim.

On their part, sources in the sector said this too strict interpretation of the Maltese law will act as a disincentive to Maltese-owned supermarket owners, as the foreign-owned supermarkets, which are present in Malta and have a very vertical set-up with their own supplies, will not be affected by this law.

“While we are being blocked from doing joint marketing,” sources said, “our foreign competitors have a free hand.”