Ministry, producers to meet on prices

The Commerce Ministry will next week call a meeting with manufacturers to discuss appropriate retail prices before it reveals the cost structure of essential goods to the public.

The government has been pressured by consumers to curb the rocketing cost of living.

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyaphirom said the ministry’s Internal Trade Department would soon wrap up its study of the cost structure of essential consumer goods and foods. The study will help the ministry identify clearly the cost of production for each item. Enterprises will need to increase prices fairly or keep them unchanged if the ministry finds that their cost of production has not increased much, he said.

Boonsong said the ministry would primarily ask for cooperation from producers to keep their retail prices unchanged. If they demonstrate a need to increase prices, the ministry will consider allowing them to do so based on fair practice. 

For instance, if the cost of production has risen by 5 per cent because of higher wages and fuel prices, producers should not mark up their retail prices by more than 5 per cent, he explained.

If manufacturers and traders are found to have raised prices unfairly, the government will stringently enforce laws to control this practice, Boonsong added.

Meanwhile, the ministry’s permanent secretary Yanyong Phuangrach has challenged organisations and opposition parties to investigate the ministry’s calculation of inflation in April, which posted a low year-on-year figure amid high concern over supposedly rocketing goods prices.

Yanyong said the ministry had based the April inflation figure on a fair and transparent process. The slowing of inflation has shown that consumer prices have been under the control of the government and no one could distort the inflation figure.

The ministry reported yesterday that the Consumer Confidence Index rose from 23 points in March to 24.2 last month, thanks to a rise in the minimum wage and increased spending during the Songkran festival.

However, consumer sentiment could drop in May as consumers have shown higher concern over rising goods prices and higher fuel and electricity costs, as well as the back-to-school period, when parents need to spend more.