Anutin assures adequate supplies of face masks
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul posted on Facebook today (February 8) clarifying that face mask was not a stock product of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO).
He said that that the GPO was selling 5 million additional face masks and he had ordered the agency to sell at cost price, adding he would order more if there were additional demand.
Recently, government deputy spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek had remarked on Friday (February 7) about the difference in the price of face masks sold by the Ministry of Commerce -- which cost Bt2.50 -- against the GPO’s price of Bt1.
“The reason that the government’s price is higher than GPO is because of higher production and transportation costs, while face mask was a stock product for the GPO so they can sell at a cheap price,” she said.
“We confirm that we did not intend to jack up the price, so people should trust that this is a standard price.”
Meanwhile, Deputy PM and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit also confirmed that the face mask price of Bt2.50 was appropriate considering the cost.
