Agents from the Provincial Office of Price Control spread out in Santiago, checking the prices of the most popular items in the local supermarkets. The first step of the renewed effort to protect consumers will be a survey to establish a baseline of prices for later comparison. Eighteen men and women worked Santiago’s major retailers, as well as the smaller supermarkets located in other areas of the city. As a result of the efforts of both the national and provincial offices, the price of poultry is now reported to be near RD$25 per pound, down from a previous high of over RD$35. Some price increases were noted, such as those on sugar and beans, both cases being easily explained as the result of the end of the cane harvest and last September’s hurricanes. While there is plenty of flour to make bread, the propane gas used to bake it has risen in price. The bakers, however, are maintaining the price of the individual-sized loaves at RD$3.00 per unit. Francis Mancebo, the national head of the Office of Price Control, also pointed out another reality in Dominican commerce: There is no change. Even if bread were lowered to RD$2.60, there is no way to give the consumer 40 cents change. In his opinion, the only solution would be to increase the amount of bread purchased for the RD$3.00 price.