While freezing vendors' prices, Commerce Ministry hits them with new fee
Although the Commerce Ministry has attempted to control the price of foods amid the rising cost of cooking gas and raw materials, the ministry itself has hit traders who sell food in its own canteen with a new fee, causing difficulty for small retailers.
The ministry this month imposed a new Bt500-a-month "central administration fee" on food retailers who lease its canteen area.
A noodle retailer said the ministry had not increased the rental fee itself, but instead created an additional charge for leaseholders.
"The ministry has ordered us [food retailers] to freeze our prices. But not only has it failed to help us reduce our costs, it has pushed more financial burden on to us," the retailer complained.
"The policy to freeze the retail prices of goods but increase the costs of our purchases and leasing has only caused poor people to get poorer."
The rental fee in the ministry canteen excluding the cost of electricity and other utilities is Bt4,200 a month.
The retailer said vendors had to shoulder higher costs of raw materials such as eggs, pork, vegetables, rice and cooking gas. As they cannot increase the prices of the food they sell, they have faced lower incomes each month.
A retailer of cooked-to-order food at the ministry canteen said: "Life is more difficult at present, particularly for food retailers, as we cannot increase prices, but the cost of many things has grown."
For instance, rice and noodle retailers said they must use between four and eight 15-kilogram tanks of liquefied petroleum gas a month. This month, the price has gone up by Bt8 a tank, meaning they face a higher cost of Bt40-Bt80 a month.
The increase in the cost of eggs by about 50 satang each has also lowered their income. The Commerce Ministry obliges food retailers to cap the price of a cooked egg at Bt5, while their cost has risen to Bt3.50-Bt3.60 from Bt3 per egg.
"Small retailers like us are suffering seriously as costs of production have risen, while the government has ordered us to freeze our prices. We need to feed our families, and the cost of many things, such as essential goods, school fees, books, fuel and electricity, have all increased, but our incomes have been frozen," complained the source, who asked to remain anonymous as he/she still had to do business at the ministry.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach said the ministry would try to curb the rising price of eggs in the next few weeks. He said it had asked traders to maintain the egg price at Bt3.50 at the farm gate. The ministry will also try to monitor prices of cooked and street-vendor food.
Nevertheless, the retail price of eggs is currently Bt5-Bt6 each.
