Govt to control prices
In response to farmers' concerns over their rising production costs, the Commerce Ministry will include some agricultural equipment in its price-control list next year.
Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol said that since demand for agricultural equipment was rising but there was little competition in the industry, the ministry would step in to ensure fair prices for farmers.
He said many agricultural machines were damaged during the floods. Demand for such goods has ballooned as farmers struggle to recover their plantation areas. The ministry will stringently control price rises to ensure fair practice for consumers.
However, it also plans to withdraw instant coffee and dishwashing liquid from its price-control list next year, as those industries are highly competitive. Poom said it had not yet allowed manufacturers of tin-plate for cans, car batteries and electric wire to raise their prices for next year, as the ministry wants to curb the cost of living after the recent floods.
Meanwhile, the ministry expects that about 10 million tonnes of paddy rice will have entered the government’s pledging project between October 7 and February 29.
Poom said the pledging project was expected to cost about Bt100 billion in subsidies. He also projected that the rice-export volume would not be less than 9 million tonnes next year, although exporters would face difficult competition due to the higher rice price.
As a strategy to release rice stockpiles, Poom said the government planned to sign a barter contract with China in the near future for exchange of Thai farm products for Chinese goods.
