China’s small businesses struggle to raise prices as inventory piles up

Economy

Iran war and price competition add to woes in a sluggish domestic economy

Shuttered storefronts in a plastic materials market in Ningbo earlier this month. (Photo by Kentaro Shiozaki)

BEIJING — China’s small and medium-sized businesses are hard pressed to increase prices, squeezed by competition for scarce demand while the Middle East crisis drives up supply costs.