Price speculation is unleashed

Merchants are going overboard with price increases.

Santo Domingo, D.R.

The Dominican Federation of Traders (FDC) assured that the rise in the prices of some products in the country has been unjustified since they reflect much more than what would be stipulated by the increase in commodities.

The president of the FDC, Iván García, highlighted that the proportion of this increase is much higher than how the products are currently being offered, adding that the rise has been registered more in industrialized products, such as oil.

“It is not possible that in one year, oil has gone up eight times. Many companies have sacrificed ourselves in order not to pass on to the consumer the price increases that the industrial sectors are realizing and when the imports come from China we are not reflecting the increase of the cost of the freights because this is temporary and between August and September, it will return to its normality”, expressed Garcia while speaking to Listín Diario.

The traders’ representative indicated that the trade must take into account that there is the perception that everything that goes up does not go down in the Dominican population.

The commercial leader Ivan de Jesus Garcia also recommended evaluating the behavior of imported products, such as garlic, which used to have inflated prices and now decreased.

“Garlic used to cost RD$250 a pound, but now we are selling it to grocers and supermarkets at RD$60 and RD$70 so that it reaches less than RD$100 to the end consumer. Red beans were previously sold at RD$70 and now we are offering them at RD$34 so that they also reach Dominican homes more cheaply,” García emphasized.

Products on the rise
Traders say that a half-gallon of oil went from RD$160 to RD$275, a gallon of regular oil was sold at RD$320 and now costs RD$550, while a gallon of jumbo oil cost RD$600 and now costs RD$950.

Other increases are as follows: the pound of sugar went from RD$23 to RD$30, the pound of rice from RD$22 to RD$30, eggs from RD$5 to RD$7, the pound of chicken from RD$55 to RD$80, the pound of salami from RD$100 to RD$115 and the pound of pork from RD$80 to RD$120.

They add that gas went from being sold from RD$100 to RD$128, a pound of cutlet from RD$110 to RD$150, cement from RD$300 to RD$400, and cheddar cheese from RD$160 to RD$210.

Commerce
They indicate that bath soaps increased 10%, toilet soaps 15%, toothpaste 10%, sausages between 2 and 19%, disposable diapers 15%, and 10% all disposables and plastics.

Meeting
This Wednesday, the FDC will meet with the director of Pro Consumidor, Eddy Alcantara, to analyze the price of products and the issue of adulterated beverages.

Controls
“The authorities have to have control over prices in the DR, just as the merchants must know the costs of production so that there are no groups of companies that increase the prices of the products of the basic basket,” said Garcia.