Venezuelan gov't warns retailers against price gouging

Venezuelan authorities Wednesday called on retailers to stop setting prices based on the "black market dollar," or face stiff fines.

Many retailers buy imported goods at a controlled exchange rate of about 13 bolivars per dollar, then sell the products for much more, using the higher black market rate as an excuse.

With both the annual shopping season and parliamentary elections just weeks away, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged shop owners to sell at "fair prices."

Cesar Ferrer, Venezuelan superintendent of fair prices, said "visits to various shops reveal that many businesses are using the black market dollar as a price reference and we are calling on them to adjust their prices or face the law."

The price gouging runs counter to the "interests" of the Venezuelan people and seeks to "destabilize" the nation's economy, he added.

The chief government inspector of retailers, Omar Rondon, said "we are reviewing invoices and calculating if shop owners are setting their cost structures beyond the 30-percent profit margin allowed by law."

Venezuelan currency control system implements different exchange rates, depending on the priority of the goods imported.

The lowest rate, 6.3 bolivars per dollar, applies to food and medicines imported by the government. A rate of 13 bolivars per dollar applies to nonessential items purchased by the state.

A third more flexible rate, at around 200 bolivars per dollar, applies to private companies or individuals who want to buy dollars to travel or do business abroad.

The black currency market, particularly a website called Dollar Today, has been denounced by the government as a destabilizing factor for the economy. Endi