Regulators cracking down on price gouging related to epidemic

Market regulators in China have ramped up price monitoring of anti-epidemic equipment, such as raw materials for face masks and thermometers, and have joined with public security forces to crack down on price gouging amid the novel coronavirus epidemic, a senior official with the State Administration for Market Regulation said on Thursday.

Chen Zhijiang, with the administration's price supervision and inspection bureau, said prices of melt-blown fabrics－essential materials for making surgical masks－have risen quickly recently, largely due to surging demand and price manipulation by some businesses.

"In one case that we tracked down, the normal price of the fabric, which is sold for about 20,000 yuan ($2,860) per metric ton, was inflated to as much as 45,000 per ton," he said at a news conference.

In another case detected in Yuncheng, Shanxi province, a medical equipment company charged 800 yuan for an infrared thermometer that was quoted at 85 yuan at the supplier, he added.

"We have launched investigations into melt-blown fabric manufacturers in eight provincial-level regions and prioritized the handling of complaints related to such products," he said.

He added that market regulators will hand down fines and penalties in a "prompt and tough" fashion to violators, and severe violations on the level of criminal offense will be transferred to public security authorities.

Local market regulators have recently sent about 250 price-gouging cases involving thermometers to police departments, he said.

"The administration will continue to step up the supervision of anti-epidemic devices, leaving no blind spots or weak links behind," he said. "We will take a zero-tolerance approach to price inflation to maintain regular market order."

In addition, the administration is conducting investigations into fake or substandard disinfectants and masks, according to Yang Hongcan, head of the administration's law enforcement bureau.

He said in the past month, market regulators across the country have seized about 80.6 million problematic face masks and over 370,000 pieces of other poor equipment including disinfectant liquid.