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More than 10,000 traditional retail shops nationwide have signed up to become “Pracha Rath blue flag shops” distributing products to low-income earners holding state welfare cards, said the Ministry of Commerce.
Sontirat Sontjirawong, Deputy Minister for Commerce, said the ministry has forwarded the list to the Ministry of Finance, which will install electronic data capture (EDC) terminals to track the use of state welfare cards. Use of the cards would start from October.
So far, nearly 20 suppliers list about 150 of their products for sale in the Pracha Rath blue flag shops, up from the 48 items recently announced.
This week the list of acceptable products will be finalised, Sontirat said. Some might not be sold at the expected 15-20 per cent discounts, he conceded.
“We want to increase the variety of products for sale in the blue flag shops. That’s why some products may not be sold at discounts of as high as 15-20 per cent, but the discount must be no less than 10 per cent,” Sontirat said.