June 20, 2008
BANGKOK - Commerce ministry has given the go-ahead for price hikes on basic consumer goods like toothpaste and powdered milk as soaring global oil prices push up costs.
Vatchari Vimooktayon, deputy director of the Internal Trade Department, approved price rises for about 60 consumer products after meeting with
manufacturers on Wednesday, a spokeswoman from the department told AFP.
"They are suffering from the high oil prices and also their sales have dropped," she said.
Global oil prices surged to almost 140 dollars on Monday before dropping back, while Thailand's inflation rate reached a 10-year high in May.
The spokeswoman said Thai manufacturers had been cooperating with the government to maintain their prices since March 10, but would now be able to apply for permission from the trade department for any increases.
The government was urged to let the product prices be in line with the market forces, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
Thanawat Polvichai, director of the UTCC’s Economic and Business Forecast Center, said the price hikes would be acceptable for the people.
He also believed the price increases would not result in double-digit inflation.
