Inspection forces traders to lower 30% in prices in the Venezuelan market

Venezuelan government inspectors today supervised hundreds of businesses in markets across the country, where they forced prices to be lowered by up to 30% to limit the "margins of earnings ", fight" speculation "and" offer a happy Christmas "to the people of the Caribbean country.

Caracas, Nov 22 (EFE) .- Venezuelan government inspectors supervised hundreds of businesses in markets across the country today, 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 everything that 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 explained that the device is part of the national plan to inspect about 12,000 stores and fight against "speculation" and "hoarding".

During the visit, in which at least two traders were arrested for not selling products and accumulating them, several were punished establishments, according to the provisions against "speculation", the "boycott" and other figures.

According to the prestigious Econometric economic consulting firm, Venezuela entered into October in hyperinflation 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 -al margin of change set by the Government - has caused an unsustainable price explosion in a market that imports with dollar most of the products after the fall dramatic of the national production in recent years.

The 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 to the official rate and fix the price according to the parallel dollar.

Associations of businessmen and independent economists, on the other hand, attribute the situation to 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 carried out by the Sundde these days have resulted in the closing of shops and the disappearance in the past. of products from the markets, by forcing sellers to offer the product at a loss.