Thai consumers concerned about rising costs
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Thai consumers have complained their income is failing to cover the rising cost of living, the result of higher production costs caused by the increase in the minimum wage, even though the government has introduced a variety of measures to tackle the prob
The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) survey published on Thursday revealed that consumers want the government to freeze essential goods prices.
The survey of 1,205 respondents revealed that 54.4 per cent of consumers said that prices of goods had increased this year, 37.5 per cent said prices were unchanged, while the remained felt prices had dropped. They believed the increase in prices resulted mainly from higher wages, followed by higher production costs and rising fuel prices.
About 62 per cent of respondents said they have insufficient income to cover their daily spending, while only 38.4 per cent said that have adequate income.
Thanavath Phonvichai, director of the UTCC’s Economic and Business Forecasting Centre, said that consumers are extremely concerned about the higher cost of living, as they feel uncertain about their income during the economic slowdown. As a result, consumers will be able to save less as they have to spend more.
To solve higher living costs, most respondents said they have to limit the volume of purchasing, spend their savings, and borrow money from banks and loan sharks.
