Food Vendors Feel the Bite of Soaring Inflation
Two months ago, Sok Sathya spent less than a dollar for a kilogram of oranges to sell from his sidewalk stall across from a row of garment factories in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district. Now the same oranges cost Mr. Sathya, 39, more than 6,000 riel, or about $1.50, per kilogram. He has, in turn, raised his prices from 5,500 riel (about $1.37) to 7,500 riel (about $1.87) per kg of oranges. Mr. Sathya’s customers in the factories have in turn, for the most part, stopped buying his oranges. “It’s very difficult now. In the past, everything was cheap—the goods and fruit,” he said. “I had 20 to 30 customers a day. Now I have about 10 a day.” … Kang Chandararot, president of the Cambodian Institute for Development Study, said that, as a result of customs tax enforcement, inflation is being felt at all levels of society. “Poor people are affected by the increase in tariffs because you can see there is an increase in key commodities such as oil, gas, household appliances…and even on agricultural products being imported into Cambodia,” Mr. Chandararot said. Mr. Chandararot said he is hesitant to trust the latest Ministry of Planning figures, from November, which indicate that there was actually a decrease in the consumer price index. …
Hul Reaksmey and Colin Meyn
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/food-vendors-feel-the-bite-of-soaring-inflation-50773/
