Local authorities cracking down on pricing violators
Market regulators inspect a supermarket.
An official makes an inspection.
Shanghai's market regulators uncovered several pricing-regulation violations on Tuesday, part of a crackdown implemented to stabilize the market.
Among them, Shanghai Guyuan Agriculture Co was fined 400,000 yuan (US$62,794) for price fraud, the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation said.
Officials said the company misled consumers by claiming its vegetables come directly from its planting base in Fengxian District, while the reality is they were purchased from other vendors.
It tricked consumers into deals with misleading pricing schemes, investigators said.
In another case, Shanghai Shenchen Market Management Co is under investigation for selling pork for 16.4 yuan per kilogram – not 9.9 yuan per kilogram as its pricing label indicated.
Consumers can dial 12345, a 24-hour, government-run, public-service hotline, or 12315, China's market watchdog's hotline, to report pricing irregularities.
Businesses found guilty of pricing irregularities face fines of up to 3 million yuan and termination of their business licenses in serious cases, according to a guideline released Friday targeting price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The notice issued by the market regulation administration aims to regulate the market and guarantee stable prices of commodities related to people's daily lives, such as vegetables, milk, meat and pandemic-prevention items like masks and disinfectants.
Inspections have been beefed up at supermarkets, pharmacies, agricultural and wholesale markets near lockdown areas and e-commerce platforms.
