Unfortunately, while the government and elected officials from every party seem to agree about the problem, they all seem to do the bare minimum to address it, all but ensuring that the problem will come back soon after.
Official price lists and local market inspections lead to fines that are often low enough for some violators to happily pay them and keep overcharging. Meanwhile, more complex price fixing along the supply chains — from wholesale to retail — is easier to do and harder to detect, meaning that the biggest cogs in the price gouging machine are even less likely to be affected. Indeed, retailers often note, with evidence, that their price hikes are in line with increases in the prices they pay their suppliers, and some of the more considerate retail outlets have built reputations around community involvement through absorbing some of those price increases, including selling commodities at below the recommended sale price or marking down essentials.
But instead of relying on stopgaps, subsidies, charity and corporate social responsibility, stakeholders need to pursue sustainable solutions that work all year, such as creating a robust consumer protection system that includes checks at all stages of product lifecycles. Given the government’s economic digitisation drive, this would not be too hard to implement, as it would integrate into most tax and quality monitoring mechanisms.