No shortage of essential goods in Keningau – ministry
KENINGAU: Consumers in the district are advised not to worry about shortage of essential goods during the Chinese New Year.
There is enough supply during the festive season, said Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry Keningau branch head Geoffrey Gumalang here.
He said stern action would be taken against traders or wholesalers for raising the prices fixed by the government.
“There is no exception for retailers who deliberately raise prices of essential goods for profit during the festive season,” he told reporters after monitoring the supply at two wholesalers here on Friday.
According to him, the ministry took action against 27 dealers here in January for not putting up price tags.
Geoffrey said when dealers failed to put up a price tag on items sold, they could easily commit fraud by setting higher prices.
“I urge consumers to report to the ministry if there are dealers who do not put a price tag on the goods sold as well as other offences such as not using weights and measures approved by the ministry,” he said.
Geoffrey added some traders or retailers usually obtained their supplies at the supermarkets and they had to sell back the goods at higher prices than in the market.
To avoid such incidents, he advised retailers and traders to buy their goods from suppliers or wholesalers because they would be able to get them at lower prices.