Guiyang Commercial Bureau is rolling out fair-price breakfast stores, for a pilot period from April to the end of this year, to stabilize the breakfast price in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province; and three stores have already enrolled.

During the pilot, the traditional local breakfast provided in the three enrolled stores will cost just 6 yuan ($0.16) instead of 8 yuan in regular stores.

The fair-price breakfast stores are being subsidized by the municipal commercial bureau, because they cut the price of breakfast and so get less profit.

Guiyang had the first fair-price breakfast store in 2008, and it still hangs the name "fair-price store" on its shopfront.

The fair-price breakfast stores, on average, charge 0.5 to one yuan less than the regular stores, but the food quality and portions are guaranteed.

More than ten fair-price breakfast stores were spread over the city then, but the majority were gradually keeping the name without providing fair price breakfasts because of inflation.

With the majority of fair-price breakfast stores fading out, breakfast carts were driving around the city selling breakfast at a fair price, but they are simply a flash in the pan.

"I'd not like to judge too hastily but wait and see," said one observer, who felt uncertain about the outlook of the three fair-price stores in Guiyang.