Shanghai Warns Food Suppliers Against Pandemic Profiteering

Shanghai’s municipal market watchdog has warned grocery suppliers not to profiteer from the city’s food distribution problems, as the strict Covid-19 lockdown has left residents scrambling to find enough to eat.

The city is battling the country’s biggest outbreak since early 2020, with most of the financial hub’s 25 million residents now stuck at home and relying on overstrained delivery services to provide them with sustenance.

In a Sunday statement (link in Chinese), the market regulator said suppliers for group-buying clubs should set prices in a reasonable and honest way. Details about the food on offer, including the price for each product, should be made available and no hidden fees should be levied, it said.