The Finance Ministry said it willallow companies to claim exemption from a wage freeze imposed
in January because of exchange rate fluctuations .
    The Price and Cartel Board, empowered by the government to
oversee the price freeze, will allow importers to charge
consumers the extra required if exchange rates changed, the
ministry said in a statement.
    The board had granted very few exceptions from the freeze
and will continue to apply the rules rigidly, apart from the
newly-announced measures, the statement said.
 REUTER
