THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is running after vendors who violate suggested retail prices (SRP) for food products.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a press briefing hosted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday that the DTI and DA are running after vendors who violate SRPs, causing “unjustified hikes” in food prices.
“In our latest report, we issued around 1,070 letters of inquiry to violators of the SRP of the DA and DTI, asking them to justify how and why did they end up with those prices,” Lopez said. “For our show cause orders, we have 31 issued, and we have issued 274 notices of violation.”
Farm gate prices of agricultural products rose the past few months due to lower supply amid the African swine flu and the impact of typhoons.
Lopez said investigations are ongoing to track excessive price hikes either from distributors, retailers, or other middlemen during trading.
“We are doing inspections to warehouses within the areas where there is artificial shortage. We involve agencies with intelligence funds to investigate warehouses if they are hoarding,” he said. (ABS-CBN News)
