When a pot worth only 600 yuan ($94.8) is priced 2,000 yuan in shopping malls and department stores, it reflects the twisted market order on pricing, says an article at people.com.cn. Excerpts:

A pot-maker took his products to almost all department stores in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. All the department store managers were satisfied with the pots' quality and agreed to display and sell them at their outlets, but one of them said he would price them at 2,000 yuan or above a piece.

In fact, 600 yuan is too high a price for a pot for many consumers to afford. But for the particular store manager, it was not high enough, so he priced the pots at 2,000 yuan each to earn more profit from them.

But it would not be fair to criticize just one department store, for many others sell pots for even tens of thousands of yuan. It's not that these pots have the power to remove toxins from or increase the nutrient content of the vegetables and meat cooked in them.

So why should consumers be forced to pay inordinately high prices for the products, including pots, they buy at supermarkets and department stores?

Artificially raised prices have held consumers and the market order hostage for long, reminding authorities that it's time they took measures to restore sanity to the market.

(China Daily 01/04/2012 page9)