I would like to express my anger at the prices charged by certain importers of medical or ancillary medical products.

I had undergone an operation in October in the UK and a post-operative condition obliged me to purchase and use disposable urine absorption pants, which I purchased from a UK supermarket at a cost of £12, which is equivalent to €14.

On my return to Malta I approached my local pharmacist and requested him to order on my behalf the same brand of disposable pants that I had purchased in the UK. In fact, I had passed on to the pharmacist an outer package of the disposable pants to ensure that what he ordered was identical to the ones I used to purchase abroad.

After a few days the pharmacist informed me that the product I requested was in stock but when I called to collect the item I found out that the retail price being asked was that of €24.20, which is 75 per cent more than the price paid in the UK.

Could anyone explain why this item should cost me €10.20 more in Malta? The supermarket in the UK was still making a decent profit when it sold the item for £12 (€14) so why should this cost €24.20 in Malta?

I would appreciate if the authorities concerned take note of the above and do whatever is necessary to stop such abuse.