Abhisit Could End Up With Egg On His Face

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THAI TALK

Abhisit could end up with egg on his face

By Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

What's this big fuss about selling eggs by the kilo instead of sticking to the age-old practice of asking: "How much is an egg today?"

Had it been introduced by the prime minister himself, this could have been blown into a major political issue. For some reason, the price of a single chicken egg - duck eggs, strangely enough, were never mentioned in the same category - has been set as the benchmark for the performance of the country's chief executive in the economic field. It became a comparative yardstick when economists cited the price of Prem's egg against Chatichai's egg. Then came Chuan's egg, whose price-tag in the market was measured against his predecessor's - and, forget GDP growth rates and inflation figures - that's what decided the leader's popularity.

Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, however, has gone on a roller-coaster ride over the price of an egg. When he first took over, chicken eggs were in over-supply and he was faced with the "crisis" of having to do everything possible to jack up the price of an egg.

When the question of the egg price came up, you could be sure that other major political issues - be it tension over the yellow and red shirts or the heat over the Thai-Cambodian border confrontation - had to take a back seat. If the price of an egg doesn't come down on his watch, he and his party could lose the next election hands down.

The past few months have, however, seen a U-turn on the egg front. Egg prices have been on the rise and complaints from consumers have been piling up - so much so that the issue could threaten the government's political stability if nothing is done to stem the rise in egg prices. It doesn't matter that prices of other commodities and consumer products have also been increasing. The egg price symbolises every measure of a government's competence.

That's where Manote Chootabtim, president of the Chicken Farmers' Association, came in. He was asked by an inspector of the Commerce Ministry, Chutima Bunyaprapassorn, to offer advice on how to bring down production costs for chicken farmers.

"I proposed cutting the prices of animal feed and power bills. On the marketing side, I proposed selling chicken eggs by the kilo instead of by piece, as one of the alternatives - not as a total solution," he says.

He blames the perennial problems of chicken farmers on the middlemen who invariably put pressure on the farmers for the lowest possible price, so they can sell to consumers at the highest possible profit margin.

The middleman buys in bulk, by the kilo, from farmers, but sells by the piece after grading the eggs into different categories and setting various prices according to quality.

Manote explains: "Very few people realise that one egg usually weighs around 5 grammes more or less than the next one. It's a very small distinction. And the more grades the middleman puts on sale, the bigger the price gaps and the more money he makes per kilo."

The egg grading standards are also set by the middlemen. Nobody is sure how fair and professional they are, Manote argues. Therefore, if consumers could choose to buy eggs either by the kilo or individually (as graded by the sellers), it could probably reduce the distortion in grading and pricing. But that doesn't mean buyers should be restricted to only one choice.

But then bureaucracy stepped in to mess things up. For some reason, the authorities at the Internal Trade Department of the Commerce Ministry decided to make a mountain out of a molehill. Instead of opening up the choices for consumers, to stabilise the prices of eggs, they turned the whole market upside-down by compelling every egg-seller in the country to sell their produce only by the kilo.

If the government isn't careful, this silly bureaucratic blunder could snowball into a political storm. A Dusit Poll says only 13.85 per cent of its respondents were in favour of the new kilo-based system, 66.29 per cent voiced their opposition, and 56.63 per cent suggested that it would have a negative impact on low-income people.

Already, some academics have posed a very sensitive question:

The new egg marketing system won't work. It's a very fragile solution: What if the eggs break in the weighing process? Who will pay for that?

One doesn't need to consult an egghead to warn PM Abhisit that if he doesn't get officials at the Commerce Ministry to shape up, the egg price issue could become yet another political crisis. It could seriously affect his party's ability to get a good result in election later this year.

Instead of a nice sunny side up egg for breakfast, the Democrats may get rotten eggs thrown at them in the upcoming election campaign if this new plan isn't properly hatched.

-- The Nation 2011-01-27

[RKASA]

I must have typed the wrong url - This is notthenation.com right.

[asiawatcher]

"... 13.85 per cent of its respondents were in favour of the new kilo-based system, 66.29 per cent voiced their opposition, and 56.63 per cent suggested that it would have a negative impact on low-income people."

That adds to 136.77% - that's accurate! But if the farmer sells by kilo, then the middlemen get into grading and pricing - of course the wheels will come off. What needs to be known is how much the farmer gets per kilo and how many eggs (some packages say 55g and others 65g) yet this article says top to bottom they only vary by 5g. So on top of this, how much the middlemen mark it up? Then we could see a truer picture!

[Pib]

I had a bunch of in-laws over to the house this Sunday. Several of us were watching the TV when the a news report came on talking about the eggs by the kilo thing. I asked them if they thought it was a good idea. Boy, the answer was quick and unaminous...and even my wife chimed in...and that answer was the did "not" want to buy the eggs by the kilo. They wanted to to able to pick egg by egg as to what they wanted/be able to closely examine/see every egg they bought. Then I asked my neighbor lady yesterday, she responded the same way...didn't like the by the kilo idea.

[jeffman]

The price based on kilos is a stupid idea. everywhere in the world is selling eggs individually, why? Simple reason, consumer need to select the good one and it is fragile. This is not strawberries or Long Kong that can withstand knocking each other. What are they thinking?

[Tatsujin]

What are they thinking?

Thailand + Government + Thinking = That'll be the day! lol

[brommers]

I think Abhisit should have gone the whole hog & started selling them by the litre, then people wont have to pay for the shells & they can save time when boiling them by not having to peel them.

[richieudon]

Simple...... Thai logic..... you couldn't make it up