Black-clad mourners form lines outside the Grand Palace to await their turn to sign condolence books inside the Sala Sahathai Samakhom Pavilion on Saturday. (Photo by Thanarak Khunton) 
 
 Authorities have warned traders not to take advantage of surging demand for black mourning attire by raising prices unfairly. 
 
 The Commerce Ministry has instructed its provincial offices to survey the prices and supplies of black clothing in the market to ensure the public will not be taken advantage during the royal mourning period. 
 
 Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said demand for black garments had soared since the one-year mourning period began for His Majesty King Bhumibol, who passed away on Thursday. As a result, her officials are closely monitoring the prices of mourning clothes as well as black and white fabric used for building decorations. 
 
 All traders have been asked to clearly label their prices and not to raise prices unreasonably or hoard goods. Violators can face jail terms of up to seven years and/or fines of up to 140,000 baht. 
 
 She said the ministry would coordinate with distributors to ensure sufficient supplies of mourning garments across the country. 
 
 In Bangkok, traders have been flocking to wholesale garment markets, especially in Bo Bae and Pratunam, leading to traffic jams in surrounding areas on Saturday. 
 
 Traders told Reuters that business was brisk and they denied pushing up prices. 
 
 "Most people are buying black shirts," said Songkhan Tansonan, who has a stall outside Bo Bae Market. 
 
 She said she had sold 200 black shirts by midday on Saturday and 400 the previous day. 
 
 "I buy them for 90 baht from the wholesaler and sell them for 120 or 130 baht," she said. 
 
 Nongrak Bantaotuk, a nurse, said she was buying black shirts for herself and her family. She said prices had risen a bit, but that did not worry her. 
 
 "If you compare, the price is higher than before, but this isn't about prices," she said. "We're going to wear them for a year." ||||| People shop for black or white clothing to mourn Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at a mall in Bangkok, Thailand, October 15, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su 
 
 BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai authorities have warned traders not to take advantage of shoppers flocking to buy black shirts to mourn King Bhumibol Adulyadej and have sent out teams of inspectors to scour markets for price gougers. 
 
 The 88-year-old king died on Thursday after 70 years on the throne, plunging the country into grief. 
 
 The government has declared a year of mourning and asked everyone to wear black or white, and to cancel any outdoor festivities, for the first 30 days. 
 
 “Regarding black shirts which have become more expensive, the commerce ministry has sent teams to inspect white and black clothing vendors to make sure the shirts are not being sold at prices that are too expensive,” Major General Sansern Kaewkamnerd, a spokesman for the prime minister’s office, told reporters on Saturday. 
 
 Black is the color of mourning in Thailand but white, a color that symbolizes purity, is also sometimes worn. White is also worn by ethnic Chinese people at funerals. 
 
 Most people in Bangkok have been wearing black since the king died and shoppers have been flooding to markets to get new clothes. 
 
 Mannequins are dressed in black and white as retailers pay their respects to the passing of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at a mall in Bangkok, Thailand, October 15, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su 
 
 Traders said business was brisk and they denied pushing up prices. 
 
 “Most people are buying black shirts,” said Songkhan Tansonan, running a street stall next to a fetid canal outside Bangkok’s Bobae Market. 
 
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 She said she had sold 200 black shirts by midday on Saturday and 400 the previous day. 
 
 “I buy them for 90 baht ($2.60) from the wholesaler and sell them for 120 or 130 baht ($3.40 to $3.70),” she said. 
 
 Nongrak Bantaotuk, a nurse, said she was buying black shirts for herself and her family. She said prices had risen a bit, but that did not worry her. 
 
 “If you compare, the price is higher than before, but this isn’t about prices,” she said. 
 
 “We’re going to wear them for a year.”
– A lot of people in Thailand have apparently discovered that they don't have enough black clothing in their wardrobes for a full year of mourning. Vendors across the country are struggling to cope with a surge in demand for black clothes after the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and government officials have told inspectors to watch out for traders trying to profit from the beloved monarch's death with price-gouging, reports the Bangkok Post, which, like other Thai newspapers and TV stations, is eschewing color images during the mourning period. White is also a traditional color of mourning in the Buddhist country. "Regarding black shirts which have become more expensive, the commerce ministry has sent teams to inspect white and black clothing vendors to make sure the shirts are not being sold at prices that are too expensive," a government spokesman says. A nurse shopping for black clothes in Bangkok tells Reuters that prices have gone up, but that isn't a major concern right now. "If you compare, the price is higher than before, but this isn't about prices," she says. "We're going to wear them for a year."