Major noodle-makers desperate to hike price amid surging costs
Five manufacturers of instant noodles are pleading with the government to let them hike the price to 8 baht per packet as they have been shouldering increasing costs.
The executives of five companies — Thai Preserved Food, Nissin Foods, Thai President Foods, Wan Thai Foods Industry, and Chokchaipibul Co Ltd — on Monday together asked the government to consider allowing price adjustment for instant noodles, a popular food among low-income people.
Weera Naphaphreugchart, deputy managing director of Thai Preserved Food, manufacturer of “Wai Wai” noodles, said the company has faced inflation and rising transport cost in the past year, causing some of its products to run losses. “Also, we have not adjusted the price of our noodles for 14 years due to the price-fixing policy imposed by the Department of Internal Trade. It is therefore the time to revise the price to reflect the actual cost,” he said.
Kittiphos Charnphaworakit, deputy vice president of Wan Thai Foods, manufacturer of “Yum Yum” noodles, said the cost of key raw materials, such as wheat flour and palm oil, have been rising since the Covid-19 outbreak and is currently 40 per cent higher than the cost in 2019. He added that the company had already adjusted the prices of Yum Yum noodles in overseas markets, which are now sold at almost twice the price of Yum Yum in Thailand.
“Nissin” noodles manufacturer Nissin Foods (Thailand) has also adopted the strategy of hiking prices of its exports to stay afloat amid the rising cost crisis. The company has raised prices in overseas markets by 5-12 per cent since June, according to managing director Hijiri Fukuoka.
Phan Paniangwet, administration manager of “Mama” noodles manufacturer Thai President Foods, added that this is the first time that the five manufacturers are on board with the common plea to adjust the price, because everyone is already at their limit with shouldering the increasing cost.
“We urge the Department of Internal Trade to consider allowing the price adjustment so that our business can continue, as we are now suffering beyond just the loss in profit,” added Parinya Sitthidamrong, director of Chokchaipibul Co Ltd, manufacturer of “Seusat” noodles.
Instant noodles are among 18 consumer products and services that cannot raise their prices without approval from the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Internal Trade. The other 17 are: eggs and meat, canned foods, bagged rice, seasoning sauces, vegetable oils, carbonated drinks, milk and dairy products, electrical appliances, cleaning products (including detergents), fertilisers, insecticides, animal feed, iron, cement, paper, drugs and medical equipment, and services of wholesale and retail shops.