The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) recently ordered local commerce authorities to carefully regulate market operations in order to maintain a stable market after the recent oil price rise, the Shanghai Securities News reported Thursday.

In a statement released on the MOFCOM website, the Ministry ordered local commerce authorities to closely monitor the price changes of key production materials and living necessities such as grain, edible oil, meat and vegetables. It also ordered local commerce authorities to enhance the supervision and inspection of commodity circulation phases such as wholesale markets, wet markets, supermarkets and department stores, and to prevent illegal activities involving bidding up prices, hitch-hike price hikes and disguised price hikes in order to protect market orders.

MOFCOM also demanded the further development of emergency and special plans for the living necessities market and the quick establishment of such plans at both the city and county levels.

The statement also ordered that local governments take the necessary measures to meet the basic consumptive demands of low-income residents, university and college students and ethnic minorities.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese

(http://paper.cnstock.com/paper_new/html/2008-06/26/content_62014596.htm)

(China.org.cn by Yan Pei, June 26, 2008)