Internal Trade Dept rechecks pricings
Move to ensure fair practice in case of increases next year
The Internal Trade Department says it is rechecking and studying price structures for 205 foods and consumer goods to ensure that if prices are raised next year, the changes will be based on fair practice balancing the needs of both producers and consumers.
Director-general Somchart Soithong said that with many changing factors, his department needed to update information on the costs of raw materials and manufacturing so that it could calculate fair and reasonable profits for producers.
Currently 205 goods including foods, essential products, electrical appliances and agricultural equipment are scrutinised. However, the department may change some products on its monitoring lists in accordance with changing lifestyles.
“Some manufacturers will not ask for price increases because they know it is difficult to get an approval. Thus they change designs, formulas and packaging, but reduce quantity as an indirect way to increase the retail price. The department will try to study those conditions and make it fair for producers and consumers,” Somchart said.
The department sends teams to inspect the prices of these 205 goods every two weeks. It also does monthly inspections of other goods that are at risk of price increases.
Somchart said he was confident that most producers would not ask for increases until the end of the year, as the Commerce Ministry has called for their cooperation on freezing prices. However, when the economy starts growing more strongly next year, some producers may ask for price rises. He said the department would carefully consider whether to allow increases as well as ensure that the market mechanism does its work.
Asked about the higher cost of cooking gas, Somchart said his department would ask for cooperation from owners of modern-trade and other outlets to reduce their rents so that food traders would not face higher production costs and could maintain their prices.
