Inspectors oblige traders to lower 30% prices in the Venezuelan market

Venezuelan government inspectors supervised today hundreds of stores in markets in Caracas and throughout the country, where they forced prices to be lowered by up to 30% to limit the "margins" of profits ", combat" speculation "and" offer a happy Christmas "to the people of the Caribbean country.

Caracas, Nov 22 (EFE) .- Venezuelan government inspectors supervised today hundreds of stores in markets in Caracas and throughout the country, where they forced prices to drop by up to 30% to limit "profit margins", combat "speculation" and "offer a happy Christmas" to the people of the Caribbean country.

"Price adjustment is being ordered in all that it is charcuterie, cheese (...) We have ordered rebates ranging from 10% to 30% of most products ", said during the inspection the head of the National Superintendence for Defense of Socioeconomic Rights (Sundde), William Contreras.

The superintendent, who today participated in the deployment of his men in the Guaicaipuro municipal market. Caracas accompanied by agents of the Bolivarian National Guard, explained that the device is part of the national plan to inspect about 12,000 stores and fight against "the speculation "and" hoarding ".

During the round, in which at least two merchants were arrested for not selling and accumulating products, several establishments were sanctioned according to the provisions against "speculation", the "boycott" and other criminal acts contemplated in the organic law "fair prices".

Contreras also pointed out that from On Wednesday the deployment of the Sundde throughout the country will also focus on enforcing the "fair prices agreed" that the agency has set after consulting with producers and other economic agents involved.

According to the prestigious Econometric economic consulting firm, Venezuela entered hyperinflation in October when registering for the first time in its history an inflation of more than 50%.

The unstoppable depreciation of the bolivar against the dollar in the free market, regardless of the change set by the Government, has caused an explosion of unsustainable prices in a market that imports with dollar the majority of the products after the dramatic fall of national production in recent years.

Government blames this situation on an "economic war" of the United States, the opposition and merchants, who speculate with the few dollars that the Government assigns at an official rate and set the price according to the parallel dollar.

Associations of entrepreneurs and independent economists, meanwhile, blame the situation on the uncontrolled expansion of the monetary base in bolivars and the insufficiency of the amount of dollars at the official rate awarded by the Government, circumstances that trigger the demand and therefore the price of the parallel dollar.

Campaigns such as the one These days the Sundde has had as a consequence in the past the closure of shops and the disappearance of products from the markets, forcing sellers to offer the product at a loss.