Commerce Ministry, Foremost to extend successful ‘Thong Fah (Blue Flag) Pracha Rat’ scheme 

This follows an enthusiastic response from the public, with Bt22 billion of credit spent via state welfare cards at Thong Fah stores since October last year. 
In its second phase, the scheme will improve the distribution efficiency of goods in partnership with the private sector after listing 40,000 Thong Fah stores before its established timeline, the ministry announced on Monday.
Point-of-sale terminals will be deployed on a trial basis to collect data for analysis and better operational efficiency of the scheme, in the hope of adding a greater variety of Thong Fah goods to meet the demands of consumers, said Boonyarit Kalayanamit, director-general of the Internal Trade Department. 
Moreover, business training will be held to educate operators of Thong Fah stores and empower them to grow sustainably with the scheme, he said.
The Commerce Ministry opened the registration of state welfare cardholders in October as a scheme to help low-income earners cope with their living costs. 
The implementation was successful with good feedback from all stakeholders, particularly in pursuing the planned increase of Thong Fah stores to achieve extensive coverage, Boonyarit added.
As of this month, the ministry has already listed more than 40,000 Thong Fah stores nationwide and therefore reached its target number ahead of schedule. 
The private sector’s support for the scheme now sees producers supplying a total of 541 products at discount prices, of which 66 per cent are consumer goods, 15 per cent are educational supplies, and 19 per cent are agricultural supplies, the DG said. 
The ministry’s review of the scheme’s performance revealed credit spending of Bt22 billion to date via the state welfare card at Thong Fah stores.