PM: Situation Will Improve After Rains

[Lite Beer]

PRICE RISE

PM: Situation will improve after rains

THE NATION ON SUNDAY

BANGKOK:-- Economic ministers to survey the prices of essential goods

As assigned by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, economic ministers will today survey prices of goods at farms and markets in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi and Chon Buri, Acting Government Spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard said yesterday.

Among the products they will survey are meat, eggs, vegetables and student uniforms, so as to address the public's worries, he said.

During the by-election campaign in Chiang Mai yesterday, Yingluck told reporters that the probe into the reported high prices of goods showed that prices were stable and she believed that the coming rainy season would help reduce the prices of farm goods.

Arguing that vegetable prices at many places were not high and fruits had become cheaper, especially from the "upstream" (farm price), Yingluck said she had instructed the commerce minister to keep goods prices at "mid-stream", which includes transport, rental fees and profits, and "lower-stream" - the retail price - to be lowered according to the market mechanism.

Commenting about the reportedly high price of eggs, Yingluck said the price of mid-sized eggs had actually decreased nationwide as the supply was far greater than consumption hence the government had implemented egg-processing measures before studying why there was an imbalance in demand and supply.

She said she had instructed the Agriculture Minister and Commerce Minister to find ways to distribute goods, including eggs and vegetables, during the overwhelming and shortage periods by keeping in mind the goal of ensuring farm produce prices that would keep farmers afloat.

Meanwhile Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom spoke on the PM's weekly TV programme about the government approach to enforce price control measures. He said, the government would expand from five days to two months the low-cost consumer products shops project. Boonsong said the ministry had sought and received cooperation from many business operators to keep goods prices under control for four months, especially commodity goods. The ministry will discuss this with business operators this week. He said that after four months, while some product prices could rise, the price of some goods such as chicken meat and eggs should be lower.

However, the rising price of energy made the situation difficult for the Energy Ministry. It would keep household energy price down for three months, to help lessen the people's burden.

He also admitted that the price of vegetables had increased because the drought season had led to shortage in output.

Boonsong confided that by this year's end, goods prices would be stable, lower and return to normal.

The ministry would also add 10 kinds of ready-to-eat foods to the government list of goods with controlled prices. The ministry would check the food vendors' pricing regularly. He said the central committee on goods and services prices had set up a sub-panel to work on details of the plan and punishments, which would be tabled during the Cabinet meeting this week. If the situation was back to normal, the ministry, vendors and consumers would discuss taking the meal out of the list, he added.

Saying the low-cost consumer products shops project was attended by some 6,000 shops nationwide, he said 600 of them were in Bangkok and the ministry aimed to have a total of 1,000 such shops in Bangkok this month.

Meanwhile, the price of cooked meal in Phitsanulok was at least Bt20 per pack and most vendors sold at Bt25-Bt30 per pack as they claimed the cost of ingredients, especially vegetables and meat had gone up.

Nakhon Ratchasima Pig Farmers' Club president Worapoj Sajjawattana said the province's pig farmers had suffered losses hence 20-30 per cent had suspended their activities as they could not raise the price of pork to match the market situation because pork was in the government list of goods with controlled prices. He lamented this had happened while pig-raising costs had risen, including feeds, vitamins and transport fee.

He said pig farmers had to sell at Bt50-Bt52 per kilogram while pork in the market sold at Bt120-Bt130 per kilogram. He said this was not fair and farmers' price should be Bt100-Bt110 per kilogram. He said if the government wanted to control the price of goods, they should control raw material prices such as animal feeds, corms and tapioca. As Nakhon Ratchasima consumed 3,000 pigs per day, this meant the pig farmers suffered a loss of Bt3 million per day or Bt1.08 billion per year, he added. Thai people ate about 15 kilograms of pork per person per year, he added.

-- The Nation 2012-05-13

[Yunla]

She added that in addition to the rain, PTP have enough stockpiled bull**** to fertilize the crops with for at least a century.

[Lite Beer]

PM Yingluck assigns related ministers to inspect goods prices

BANGKOK, 13 May 2012 (NNT) – The prime minister has instructed all related ministers to make more inspection trips to check out on consumer goods prices on Sunday.

Deputy government spokesperson Anusorn Iamsa-ad said that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has instructed Cabinet ministers, whose works are related to the cost of living, to visit local markets across the country again on Sunday.

Mr. Anusorn stated that the PM wanted all related ministers to check on the current prices of consumer goods, including food ingredients such as pork, chicken meat, eggs and vegetables, as well as student uniforms.

He added the ministers, who will take to the streets, include PM’s Office ministers Nivatthamrong Boonsongpaisal and Nalini Thawisin, Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome, ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap, Deputy Agriculture Minister Natthawut Saikua, and Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom.

According to the deputy government spokesperson, the inspection will also have to be thorough and include upstream and downstream prices. All ministers are also to prepare a value chain analysis to understand why prices have been increased.

Mr. Anusorn said Sunday’s inspection trip is inevitable as public worries about rising costs and prices remain.

-- NNT 2012-05-13

[Pseudolus]

Did I dream about Hottie Yingluck saying a few weeks ago that everything was actually cheaper right now than before the flood and it was only "public perception" that things were more expensive? Maybe she was confusing staple goods with the shopping she does on her travels where they do not impose stupid import taxes to protect poorly made and designed products made locally.

[jonclark]

Arguing that vegetable prices at many places were not high and fruits had become cheaper, especially from the "upstream" (farm price), Yingluck said she had instructed the commerce minister to keep goods prices at "mid-stream", which includes transport, rental fees and profits, and "lower-stream" - the retail price - to be lowered according to the market mechanism.

Sorry this doesn't make sense? The market mechanism is (in my understadning) driven by market (economic) force, such as supply and demand. What she is asking the commerce minister to do is bypass this an 'impose; a flat fee for goods, which is not lowering the price of goods according to the market mechanism

[IMA_FARANG]

Arguing that vegetable prices at many places were not high and fruits had become cheaper, especially from the "upstream" (farm price), Yingluck said she had instructed the commerce minister to keep goods prices at "mid-stream", which includes transport, rental fees and profits, and "lower-stream" - the retail price - to be lowered according to the market mechanism.

Sorry this doesn't make sense? The market mechanism is (in my understadning) driven by market (economic) force, such as supply and demand. What she is asking the commerce minister to do is bypass this an 'impose; a flat fee for goods, which is not lowering the price of goods according to the market mechanism

----------------------

From a cynical person:

I will decode the political "politico-speak" for you then.

"upstream prices"....what the farmer gets for the produce

"midstream prices".....what the middleman gets. Added cost plus a "decent profit margin"

"lower stream prices"....what the consumer pays at the market.

Therefore the consumer eventually pays the entire cost of the system. This is called "market forces" by capitalists.

What she is asking is fdr the middleman to hold back on their margin of profit temporarily to "stabilise" the market prices.

My opinion......Not a chance in the world that will ever happen.

[OzMick]

Perhaps she should invite some USSR era Russians out to help with controlling prices and markets. It worked so well there.

I can see the headlines "PM says Pork is at Cheapest Price for 10 years." and "No Pork in Markets."

[Pib]

He said, the government would expand from five days to two months the low-cost consumer products shops project.

What are they really talking here. It this the govt Blue Flag project talked about so much where the govt would arrange for shops to sell basic consumer goods at lower prices? If so, they had only planned to run the program for "5" days and that 5 days of selling goods at a lower price would have help tame inflation? Even running the program for 2 months won't do much. So much talk; so little action.

[OzMick]

He said, the government would expand from five days to two months the low-cost consumer products shops project.

What are they really talking here. It this the govt Blue Flag project talked about so much where the govt would arrange for shops to sell basic consumer goods at lower prices? If so, they had only planned to run the program for "5" days and that 5 days of selling goods at a lower price would have help tame inflation? Even running the program for 2 months won't do much. So much talk; so little action.

It will help a great deal if those 5 days are when you conduct your survey.

[Woodcaulk]

Thai people ate about 15 kilograms of pork per person per year, he added.

However as of late, with the high price of pork...er whoops, I mean the stable price of vegetables and the falling price of mid-size eggs, the people will be supplementing their diets with an increase in the consumption of shit-sandwiches, which the government will attempt to keep a stable to increasing supply of so as to keep the people afloat.

[jonclark]

Arguing that vegetable prices at many places were not high and fruits had become cheaper, especially from the "upstream" (farm price), Yingluck said she had instructed the commerce minister to keep goods prices at "mid-stream", which includes transport, rental fees and profits, and "lower-stream" - the retail price - to be lowered according to the market mechanism.

Sorry this doesn't make sense? The market mechanism is (in my understadning) driven by market (economic) force, such as supply and demand. What she is asking the commerce minister to do is bypass this an 'impose; a flat fee for goods, which is not lowering the price of goods according to the market mechanism

----------------------

From a cynical person:

I will decode the political "politico-speak" for you then.

"upstream prices"....what the farmer gets for the produce

"midstream prices".....what the middleman gets. Added cost plus a "decent profit margin"

"lower stream prices"....what the consumer pays at the market.

Therefore the consumer eventually pays the entire cost of the system. This is called "market forces" by capitalists.

What she is asking is fdr the middleman to hold back on their margin of profit temporarily to "stabilise" the market prices.

My opinion......Not a chance in the world that will ever happen.

You should write for the Nation - Your version makes more sense - cheers

Edited May 13, 2012 by jonclark

[Baloo22]

He said, the government would expand from five days to two months the low-cost consumer products shops project.

What are they really talking here. It this the govt Blue Flag project talked about so much where the govt would arrange for shops to sell basic consumer goods at lower prices? If so, they had only planned to run the program for "5" days and that 5 days of selling goods at a lower price would have help tame inflation? Even running the program for 2 months won't do much. So much talk; so little action.

It will help a great deal if those 5 days are when you conduct your survey.

I think that you have hit the nail right on the head!! They will engineer the survey to give them the results that they want!

[LuckyLew]

Yes, for sure prices will go down when the rainy season comes

and next weekend I am going to the sea and traveling on the back of a flying pig

Maybe that is what the pig farmers in Nakom Ratchasima should do, grow pigs

with wings, then maybe they can afford to live.

[h90]

Perhaps she should invite some USSR era Russians out to help with controlling prices and markets. It worked so well there.

I can see the headlines "PM says Pork is at Cheapest Price for 10 years." and "No Pork in Markets."

I think some USSR era Russian has more idea about how economic works than our PM

[MEL1]

Of course there's lots of large eggs, and small eggs.

The mid-range eggs used to be a staple diet, usually 3 with a meal that would be a sustenance meal for a family of 247 people with sticky rice as an additive.

Now rice is being out-ranged, and mid-sized eggs at 2.4 Baht a piece being in low demand, as she puts it 'cos there's plenty of fruit, there's not an iota of a problem.

What she really means is cut out the middle-men and then mid-range sized eggs will be asunder, in 8-10 weeks time, but alas they will be out of date (if there were ever such a thing in LOS).

I smells me a few new Thai dishes of delicacy being cooked soon: Khao Pad TangMo (Melon fried rice), Pad Thai MaMuang (Stir-fried noodles with fish sauce and lychees) [ewww ], Tom Yum Thu-Rian (Spicy fish sauced hot chillied Durian )

As for the pigs and their pork, and their prices? They'll just remain in the Houses of Parliament.

-mel.

[gand]

So is the hog roast on or off?

[billd766]

A friend sent me this this morning and I thought how apt

Sign on the back of a Septic Tank Truck:

"Caution - This Truck is full of Political Promises."

Edited May 13, 2012 by billd766

[MikeOboe57]

the government had implemented egg-processing measures before studying why there was an imbalance in demand and supply.

Priceless, you couldn't make this up.

[whybother]

First they were saying prices went up because of the floods, now they're saying that prices will go down after the rains.

[Orac]

the government had implemented egg-processing measures before studying why there was an imbalance in demand and supply.

Priceless, you couldn't make this up.

Sounds quite reasonable to me - better they do something with the oversupply of eggs now rather than go off and do a study while they all go off.

[otherstuff1957]

Actually, they don't really think that prices will go down after the rains start... but people will be so busy worrying about flooding that no-one will remember to complain about the price of food.

With the rice-pledging scheme and this adjusting the price of cooked food, it seems that the government is trying to fool around with the market price of various commodities without considering the consequences. I am quite worried about the potential for runaway inflation in the next year or two.

[gand]

A political statement.

[bigbamboo]

the government had implemented egg-processing measures before studying why there was an imbalance in demand and supply.

Priceless, you couldn't make this up.

Did they send Chalerm and the boys round to have a quiet word with the chickens?

[MikeOboe57]

the government had implemented egg-processing measures before studying why there was an imbalance in demand and supply.

Priceless, you couldn't make this up.

Did they send Chalerm and the boys round to have a quiet word with the chickens?

May I suggest the old method used by the EEC in the 60s and 70s?

Subsidize overproduction with taxpayer money, then dump the surplus in landfills, bulldoze it and douse it with fish oil to discourage any human "scavengers".

[allan michaud]

He said, the government would expand from five days to two months the low-cost consumer products shops project.

What are they really talking here. It this the govt Blue Flag project talked about so much where the govt would arrange for shops to sell basic consumer goods at lower prices? If so, they had only planned to run the program for "5" days and that 5 days of selling goods at a lower price would have help tame inflation? Even running the program for 2 months won't do much. So much talk; so little action.

It will help a great deal if those 5 days are when you conduct your survey.

I think that you have hit the nail right on the head!! They will engineer the survey to give them the results that they want!

...and an awful lot of people will probably believe it

[ralphlsasser]

Did I dream about Hottie Yingluck saying a few weeks ago that everything was actually cheaper right now than before the flood and it was only "public perception" that things were more expensive? Maybe she was confusing staple goods with the shopping she does on her travels where they do not impose stupid import taxes to protect poorly made and designed products made locally.

Yes, you heard the bulls**t right. One can't feel the prices increasing if one doesn't have to work for a living. It's hard for them to decide which side of their mouth to talk from.

Edited May 14, 2012 by ralphlsasser

[moe666]

When will they ever learn fixing prices never works, it has been tried many times by many governments over the years and guess what it doesn't work.

[ralphlsasser]

When will they ever learn fixing prices never works, it has been tried many times by many governments over the years and guess what it doesn't work.

I'm not sure how long you've lived in Thailand, but Thai's don't learn from their mistakes, they continue making the same mistakes over again in an effort to save face..

Edited May 14, 2012 by ralphlsasser