Authority cracks down on price violations
Officials undertake an investigation.
An official inspects a store.
Shanghai's market regulators have busted 224 cases involving pricing violations since March 14, and issued more than 41,000 reminder notices to businesses.
The aim is to regulate the pricing order of the city and crack down on businesses cashing in on the COVID-19 resurgence, officials said on Saturday night.
The campaign targets group buying, e-commerce platforms and supply companies. Authorities have stepped up monitoring via social media platforms to uncover relevant cases in a timely manner, the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation said.
Among them, Jinxiaowen Eatery was found price gouging, following tips-off from the public.
The eatery purchased 30 kilograms of potatoes at 180 yuan (US$28.26), or 6 yuan per kilogram, and sold them at 33.6 yuan per kilogram on an online food delivery site, posing a price gap of 460 percent, officials revealed.
The price difference of procurement and sales of tomatoes it sold also hit 300 percent.
It was fined 3,635 yuan and ordered to refund consumers.
In a separate case, Benlifeng Supermarket was found having a price gap of procurement and sales of vegetables ranging between 114 and 169 percent during the city's lockdown period.
It was imposed a fine of 9011.7 yuan with illegal gains totaling 1,802 yuan confiscated.
The administration said the intensive campaign against pricing violations will continue and reminded consumers to keep consumption records and communication records with relevant businesses to safeguard their rights.
