A regulation issued by that body recalled that any acquisition, sale, transfer, or exchange of goods below the price set by the corresponding authorities may be punished by the law.

They also emphasized that the clandestine storage or refusal to sell outside the forms prescribed by the legal provisions may be considered an illegal speculation.

The authorities’ call comes at a time when the persistent shortage of hydrocarbons the country has been experiencing since early the year has shot up the prices of the basic food basket, transportation, and the domestic generation of electricity.

While many service stations are closed and claim to be out of fuel, in the informal market, a gallon of gasoline reaches 1,250 gourdes (about 10.8 dollars), five times its official cost.

In the last few months, import volumes have also decreased, however, distributors recognized that there is a disparity between the fuels dispatched by the terminals and those arriving at the gas stations.

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