Champassak Officials Take Steps to Curb Lao New Year Price Hikes
Source: Vientiane Times
Champasak provincial authorities are carrying out checks and writing agreements with fuel importers, markets, and shops in Pakxe City, to encourage them not to raise the price of goods and services during the Lao New Year holiday.
A senior commerce official, Mr. Kaithong Souvannady, said the monitoring of product prices was in line with a notice issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on March 28.
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The notice instructed commerce officials to monitor and regulate prices during the Lao New Year festival so that businesses and traders do not take advantage of a time of peak demand to hike prices arbitrarily.
Checks are also being carried out in the interests of consumer rights, to prevent people from taking advantage of and stop traders from deliberately keeping goods in short supply, Mr. Kaithong said.
Vendors and businesses that are seen to be profiting from the spike in demand will be given a written warning and fined.
The legal prices of certain consumer goods and beverages are spelled out in detail in a notice issued by the Champassak provincial Industry and Commerce Department on April 4, which puts the sale price of Grade 1 sticky rice in Pakxe markets at 14,000 kip per kg and Grade 2 sticky rice at 13,000 kip per kg.
Grade 1 jasmine rice costs 13,000 kip per kg while Grade 2 jasmine rice costs 11,000 kip per kg.
Meanwhile, Grade 1 beef costs 120,000 kip per kg, and Grade 2 beef costs 110,000 kip per kg. The correct price of Grade 1 pork is 70,000 kip per kg, while Grade 2 pork should be on sale at 65,000 kip per kg.
The sale price of goods in other districts is based on the circumstances of each locality and determined by the committees managing the price of goods and services at the district level.
People who find products on sale at the incorrect price, see products that are past their sell-by date, spot items whose price is not in line with government regulations, or observe other infringements of the law, are advised to call the consumer trade hotline number 1510.
