SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Malay Hawkers and Petty Traders Association has called on the government to set up a list system of wholesalers, especially for agricultural and food products, to facilitate monitoring of prices and to prevent price manipulation.

       Its vice president Kamal Ahmad Abdullah said through the system, the relevant ministries, especially the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, would be able to identify wholesalers or suppliers who increased prices indiscriminately.

       He said currently there were wholesalers who were registered with the ministry, but they were mostly those for goods under the price control scheme such as chicken, cooking oil and flour.

       “Through the list system, the ministry will get more information on the wholesalers, like the goods they buy and supply, and where they operate. So when there is a price increase, the government can detect the party which is responsible, hence it becomes easier to monitor the price so that when the goods reach consumers, the price will not be so high, ” he told Bernama yesterday.

       With the current increase in the price of goods, Kamal said there was a need for all wholesalers to be registered with the ministry and for ceiling prices to be set.

       Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Bernama in Shah Alam found that most business operators claimed that the existence of middlemen has led to the increase in prices of goods.

       Arniza Abdul Razak, 35, who owns a grocery store, said the prices of some goods at her shop were higher than before because she was told by her suppliers that the factory prices had increased.

       “Even though they say the price is higher because of the increase in factory price, but actually, it is the middlemen who are responsible,” she said.