Govt 'To Heed HM On Floods'

[Lite Beer]

Govt 'to heed HM on floods'

The Nation on Sunday

BANGKOK:-- Yingluck also vows to tackle pork, egg prices; Commerce Ministry plans 'Blue Flag' shops in communities

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday she did not think the flooding this year would be as severe as last year's. She also assured that all parties would work together to manage the water situation and heed His Majesty the King's advice to plant trees and prevent deforestation.

Yingluck and the commerce minister also vowed to push for reasonable pork and egg prices and to set up a Blue Flag shop, which would sell food and goods at cheap prices in each community.

During the "Yingluck Government Meets the People" weekly TV show on Channel 11, the PM said the government would make sure flood-control measures were in place before the rainy season, so if there was a flood it wouldn't be as critical as the 2011 disaster.

She said the government and the Strategic Committee for Water Resource Management (SCWRM) would closely follow preparations and monitor the water situation; many agencies had experience and would not let such a crisis recur.

Other urgent issues to tackle now were naming members for the National Water Resources and Flood Policy Committee and setting up a water information centre.

Yingluck said that she, the SCWRM and the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development were given an audience with His Majesty the King on Friday to report on water management plans.

She said the government would follow the King's advice to speedily reforest, prevent deforestation and punish more harshly officials who allowed illegal logging, as well as implement a balanced water management plan between flooding and drought to minimise impacts on farmlands.

The TV programme was aired from Bangkok's Min Buri Market, with Yingluck and guest speaker Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyaphirom also commenting on food prices. Yingluck said she had urged Boonsong to oversee food prices, especially the pork and chicken meat that Thais love and for eggs, which were once very expensive before the price plunged to the point of no profit for producers.

She said she had urged the Commerce Ministry to consider the cost of the whole supply chain, set a fixed retail price, then trace back through the chain to ensure reasonable profit while also considering processing the huge amount of eggs in the market to boost their value.

In the long run, the ministry would have to check if too many breeding egg hens were being imported and if the ratio of egg hens needed to be adjusted to better suit domestic demand, she said.

The government would also speedily proceed with the "One Blue Flag Shop for One Community" project instead of price intervention because if Blue Flag shops were selling goods more cheaply it would lead other shops to lower their prices, Yingluck said.

The government would try to set up many Blue Flag shops and get as many privately owned shops to join as "Blue Flag" outlets as possible, as they would be an alternative for low-income people to survive, she said.

Boonsong said that over the previous two years the government had approved the import of breeding egg hens, each of which gave birth to about 90 chicks, so the number of egg hens had increased and the egg supply had soared. He said the ministry was considering solutions, as eggs were now "too cheap".

-- The Nation 2012-02-26

[PoodMaiDai]

Ah yes, imported eggs are the problem.

[janverbeem]

He said the ministry was considering solutions, as eggs were now "too cheap".

Are these people for real?What is the definition and what are the negative consequences of something that is "Too cheap" .

[Reasonableman]

Producers make too little profit, I guess. In a free-market economy, it is the job of private enterprise to predict and meet demand, and make a profit. If you are mistaken, such may be the consequences. Is it government's job to control the market? Open to debate.

He said the ministry was considering solutions, as eggs were now "too cheap".

Are these people for real?What is the definition and what are the negative consequences of something that is "Too cheap" .

[1bbcd5]

You just saved me the trouble of reposting.

[slapout]

Well I hope the Commerce Minister knows more about his chosen work than he displays about chickens. The last paragraph content and terms used, certainly do not display, knowledge, or common sense.

Maybe he adheres to the same lunch diet (liquid) as some others in this cabinet. I have not noticed too cheap eggs, price is still a tad higher than pre flood price. Before anyone says that price was set by the government, I have seen little adherence to set prices for any product in the past few months.

[mayday49]

Sometimes Decadence is difficult to disguise...

[MaiChai]

Maybe we should go back to MPs needing degrees before they can become MPs? Seems like we have a right rabble in place since the bar was dropped?

Edited February 26, 2012 by MaiChai