SA Covid RATs glut won’t lower prices, retailers warn

SA’s rapid Covid test stocks have gone from shortage to over-supply but customers should not expect any relief, retailers warn.

After weeks of limited stock, South Australia now faces a glut of rapid antigen tests (RATs), but that does not mean consumers will be able to get them more cheaply.

The price of a RAT will remain about $10.

With supply chains returning, some South Australian retailers are expecting to have thousands available by the end of this week.

There are already fears among retailers that they will have too much of the product but Pharmacy Guild of Australia state president Nick Panayiaris said there would be no price relief for consumers.

“These tests are imported and there is no indication in the short term that they will become cheaper while there is still such a high demand overseas in places like Europe,” he said.

A Rapid Antigen Test handed out by SA Health in the Southern Parklands. Picture Emma Brasier

Foodland supermarkets chief executive Franklin dos Santos said tests were most commonly bought in packs of five, for between $50 and $60.

“I don’t think the price will move much from about $10-$12 each a test,” Mr dos Santos said.

“The price differential comes with the sensitivity and we have seen a bit of a higher demand for the more expensive, more sensitive tests.”

He said as case numbers continued to fall in SA, the demand for rapid antigen tests was reducing.

“An oversupply could come if there is a change in government advice or health directions, which we saw here in SA over the weekend,” Mr dos Santos said.

“If they were to make them free or keep changing their advice about their use, it could end up like hand sanitiser and we’ll have thousands of them sitting in warehouses.

“We are obviously concerned that we will have serious capital invested and our tests will be sitting there with no where to go.”

An example of a positive RAT. Picture: File

It follows months of uncertainty about RAT supply in the state and a rollout that left many retailers in the dark.

“They made the major announcement that retailers were able to sell RATs on Christmas Eve, without any warning,” said a pharmacist from Mile End, who did not wish to be named.

“Our third-busiest day of the year and I was fielding a phone call every two minutes from customers asking if we had them when we didn’t; it was extremely stressful.”

Last month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released findings of a national investigation into “price gouging” of RATs, where some retailers were reported to be selling a single test for up to $70.

In SA, scalpers were selling RATs on social media for as much as $25 for one test, and up to $90 for a five-test kit at an SA-based retailer.