Cut utility bills, lower diesel price cap, FTI urges govt
THE NATION
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is concerned about the energy price situation and has asked the government to cut utility bills and cap the diesel price at less than 30 baht per litre to prevent inflation.
FTI chairman Suphan Mongkolsuthree said on Wednesday that operators were facing pressure from increasing manufacturing costs in both energy and transportation, while currency volatility was also affecting material and importing costs.
On top of this, he said, the container and semiconductor shortage problem is not getting any better.
Suphan cited a FTI January survey in which 1,335 operators in 45 industry groups were asked which factors worried them the most.
According to the survey:
- 70.1% were worried about the oil price
- 45.5% were concerned about the political situation in the country
- 43.8% had worries about the currency rate, and
- 42.6% were perturbed about loan interest rates.
The FTI gave the government four suggestions:
- Control inflation and solve the cost-of-living problem by cutting utility bills, reducing LPG gas prices, and increasing the budget for the “Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves) campaign.
- Keep the diesel price below 30 baht per litre and clear up the material shortage or high-price problem to decrease manufacturing costs.
- Roll out economic stimulus measures to help the economy recover, including measures to assist businesses that have been affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
- Ease entry measures for foreign visitors by at least reducing the number of RT-PCR tests to only one under the Test & Go scheme and using Antigen Test Kits instead on the fifth day of arrival.
