Supermarkets have not tampered with their prices since boosting their discounts, according to a monitoring exercise by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

The one-year concession started on December 4, 2013 for Lindo’s, MarketPlace and Supermart — all of whom agreed to raise their traditional five percent Wednesday discounts to ten percent, in a bid to alleviate the burden on cash-strapped consumers.

“Once the public were informed of this agreement, speculation began as to the ways in which the supermarkets would cover the increased discount,” the report said. “Many consumers believed the grocers would increase the prices to accommodate the ten percent discount.”

Out of the roughly 21,000 items carried by a typical store, Consumer Affairs opted to keep track of 60 staple items covering the main product categories.

Only brands carried by all stores were monitored, between November 28 and January 29.

Prices vary between stores, as different suppliers offer different deals at different times.

Others obtain products directly from overseas suppliers, the report noted.

The price of bread has held steady for the past year, at just under $6, while the price of eggs from one local supplier rose significantly due to a shortage of brown eggs.

The price tags of fruits and vegetables varied from store to store depending on the size of the products. Meat and fish showed no price increase, the report stated.

Consumer Affairs found some discrepancies in prices between stores of one chain — but ascribed the variations to differences in stock levels between outlets.

The Department advised an education campaign to remind the public that local prices were impacted by extreme weather overseas — and that oil prices also affect the local price of imported goods.

The report concluded: “It would not be in the grocery stores’ best interest to engage in potential practices which could breach laws in Bermuda.”