Business operators urged to lower prices of consumer goods

[rooster59]

Business operators urged to lower prices of consumer goods

BANGKOK: Business operators of consumer products and major shopping centres will be called for a meeting with the Internal Trade Department early next month in a bid to ask them reduce prices of goods in conformity with oil price reductions.

The department’s slow action came after public outcry of why consumer goods remain high and are not reduced although oil price was always cited as main reason for business operators to seek price adjustment from the Internal Trade Department.

Diesel price had shot up to almost 30 baht a litre and all business operators were allowed to adjust prices several times.

However now the price dipped below 20 baht but prices of consumer goods and other service are left intact.

The public has raised questions on why prices of goods has not dropped accordingly.

In 2015, 2,122 complaints were received which is the highest it has ever been in a period of 3 years.

Of this figure, 1,700 were complaints regarding overpriced prepared food.

In reaction to this, the Department of Internal Trade has thus arranged to invite goods and products producers for a meeting at the end of the month to see that prices of consumer goods are reduced by at least 0.5 – 1.0 Baht.

Wiboonrak Ruamrak, the director-general of the Department of Internal Trade revealed that at the end of the month, or no later than the beginning of February, she will be calling in all major goods and products producers and shopping centers for a meeting to negotiate a price reduction for major consumer goods.

The price adjustment will reflect current production overheads as a result of the continued drop in global oil prices.

She expects that prices of consumer goods will be able to be reduced by between 0.5 – 1.0 baht within February of this year.

Further meetings with producers of construction material, the automotive industry – particularly tire manufacturers; and agricultural equipment is also being planned.

She also stated that as a result of diesel prices falling lower than 20 baht/litre, producers in nine major groups of products are applying for a 2nd price adjustment.

On average, a price reduction of between 10 – 20% has been proposed, she said.

Goods such as powdered milk are expected to be reduced by 10 – 13% while canned sardines are expected to be reduced by 25%.

Prices of Jasmine rice is expected to be reduced by 16 – 20% and construction materials such as ready-mixed concrete is expected to fall by 5%.

Electrical wiring price is expected to drop by 1 – 2% and prices of steel are expected to fall by no less than 20 – 21%.

Other vital consumer goods such as fish sauce will steadily drop accordingly in the following week.

As for prepared foods which some merchants are still selling at prices that are higher than the norm, the number of public complaints into the 1569 Hotline continues to rise.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/147874

-- Thai PBS 2016-01-23

[trogers]

Let Section 44 does the urging...

I have yet to see public buses and other public transportation lowering fares

Edited January 23, 2016 by trogers

[phoenixdoglover]

Another indicator of a very weak domestic economy. These sort of deflationary pressures argue against improvement in GDP growth.

[NCC1701A]

i thought stuff sells for what the market demands. supply and demand.

i guess this is what happens when governments try to control markets, both up and down.

[nev]

Very easy to put prices up, not so easy for greedy Business operators to drop prices it just means more profit for them.

[Bob12345]

I think that the almighty PM should just determine the price of every single item. He can set the prices for the coming 5 or 10 years and then 99.99% of the people will be happy.

[ratcatcher]

What goes up doesn't always come down.

NASA

[shirtless]

Prices wont come down the slowly creep up at every opportunity ,Good luck with that one

[WhamBam]

0.5 - 1.0 Baht? Such a huge decrease they are asking for.

I bet the prices went up by much more than that.

[Kasset Tak]

I can understand why they order the shops to lower their price on several things. Just look at steel, the world market price on steel has dropped about 30% over the last year but the price on steel plates and pipes is the same in the shops here in Sukhothai... the same as 5 years ago when the world market price maxed-out!

Edited January 23, 2016 by Kasset Tak

[Doc46]

This is like talking to an wall the Greedy pricks won't lower the prices Business is all about profit,,,,that's the only thing they are thinking about.

[Nowisee]

Their mentality is not economically based. They will raise prices when times are tough and then when they lose money month after month and eventually have to close shop, they scratch their heads and wonder. Brain dead economics.
Greed takes over... makes me laugh every time I see a place close.

I appreciate the well run places and especially the farang owned and operated places that know how to operate. That is who I support.

[steven100]

excuse me Mr Tesco manager and Mr Big C and Mr 7-11 ..... can you please lower your prices !!!!

yeah sure !!!

[BuaBS]

excuse me Mr Tesco manager and Mr Big C and Mr 7-11 ..... can you please lower your prices !!!!

yeah sure !!!

Don't forget Makro !

In metals : Copper went from 4,5 in 2011 to 2,0 now.

[BigBadGeordie]

And in the last 2 days market Brent Crude went up by 7%

[elgordo38]

Another indicator of a very weak domestic economy. These sort of deflationary pressures argue against improvement in GDP growth.

Deflationary pressures you have to be kidding. Its the rigged basket of products the same one used in the West to deny us pensioners a decent increase, to keep government borrowing costs low and also to lend cheap money to people that are not qualified to borrow money ones that have no clue how to handle money except to borrow because they want all the recent toys, gadgets, new cars, holidays and the list is endless. Everything I buy here is either up in price or smaller packaging.

[elgordo38]

This is like talking to an wall the Greedy pricks won't lower the prices Business is all about profit,,,,that's the only thing they are thinking about.

Its the same mentality as the article earlier here on some street in Phuket loaded with bars that are complaining of lower spending. Jack up the prices. Nothing absolutely nothing is dropping in price here.

[manarak]

Let Section 44 does the urging...

I have yet to see public buses and other public transportation lowering fares

government-run transportation services have lowered their fares in the last 12 months.

Edited January 23, 2016 by manarak

[jaywalker]

i thought stuff sells for what the market demands. supply and demand.

i guess this is what happens when governments try to control markets, both up and down.

Too true.

If they want to tie market prices to oil prices, they should maybe tie government wages to the price of oil.

Peronism (Argentina) comes to mind, as does Venezuela and the USSR.

Edited January 23, 2016 by jaywalker

[jaywalker]

This is like talking to an wall the Greedy pricks won't lower the prices Business is all about profit,,,,that's the only thing they are thinking about.

I suppose operating a business should be about making a loss instead of a profit?

Where did you work? If they operated at a loss would they have been able to pay you?

It is extraordinarily difficult to operate a business when you ain't makin' no money.

Crying about businesses making money is PURE SOCIALISM.

[jaywalker]

This is like talking to an wall the Greedy pricks won't lower the prices Business is all about profit,,,,that's the only thing they are thinking about.

Its the same mentality as the article earlier here on some street in Phuket loaded with bars that are complaining of lower spending. Jack up the prices. Nothing absolutely nothing is dropping in price here.

Last time I was in Phuket (10 years ago) I stopped into a (dead) girly bar filled with dogs, ordered a Jack & Coke and decided to leave about the time it hit my table.

650 baht was my bill for a single Jack/Coke.

I know very little about Phuket, and do not care to learn any more about the place.

I'm an old Pattaya hand too. Phuket is off the charts.

I lived in that crazy place Pattaya for years. If all of Thailand was like Phuket I would have never considered living in Thailand.

It is utterly venomous.

[jaywalker]

This is like talking to an wall the Greedy pricks won't lower the prices Business is all about profit,,,,that's the only thing they are thinking about.

I suppose operating a business should be about making a loss instead of a profit?

Where did you work? If they operated at a loss would they have been able to pay you?

It is extraordinarily difficult to operate a business when you ain't makin' no money.

Crying about businesses making money is PURE SOCIALISM.

Any Socialists out there?

I offer civilized debate over the matter of "Should a Company Operate At A LOSS????"

Or "Should not every company ever founded...Try to found such a company in the hopes of making profits?

Edited January 24, 2016 by jaywalker

[kimamey]

This is like talking to an wall the Greedy pricks won't lower the prices Business is all about profit,,,,that's the only thing they are thinking about.

I suppose operating a business should be about making a loss instead of a profit?

Where did you work? If they operated at a loss would they have been able to pay you?

It is extraordinarily difficult to operate a business when you ain't makin' no money.

Crying about businesses making money is PURE SOCIALISM.

Any Socialists out there?

I offer civilized debate over the matter of "Should a Company Operate At A LOSS????"

Or "Should not every company ever founded...Try to found such a company in the hopes of making profits?

I wouldn't say that a company making a profit, which of course should be it's aim is against socialist principles although there are many views on what socialism is. It's more to do with making profits in a fair manner without exploiting consumers and workers. Achieving that balance is the difficult part.

Ideally competition should play a major part without government involvement but there are some instances where sufficient competition isn't possible. An example is railways. You can have competition between train operators but there's a limit to how many you can have on one line and you can't have each operator with a line each so you need some regulation. Transport is also important for employment as it has to enable people to gain and travel to their place of work.

Maybe the problem in this case that there are to few competitors or those that there are have too much influence to allow proper competition which is why the government need to intervene in the short term. Of course it could instead be that it's an easy way for the government to look good.

[trogers]

Let Section 44 does the urging...

I have yet to see public buses and other public transportation lowering fares

government-run transportation services have lowered their fares in the last 12 months.

Sure? Why am I still paying Bt9 on BMTA buses from the previous Bt8, and Bt7.5?

[NCC1701A]

What goes up doesn't always come down.

NASA

yes, but that requires "escape velocity"

Thailand no have.

[Thian]

And if the supermarkets don't listen the General can invite Aldi and Lidl to come here....that would be fun.

[robblok]

This is like talking to an wall the Greedy pricks won't lower the prices Business is all about profit,,,,that's the only thing they are thinking about.

I suppose operating a business should be about making a loss instead of a profit?

Where did you work? If they operated at a loss would they have been able to pay you?

It is extraordinarily difficult to operate a business when you ain't makin' no money.

Crying about businesses making money is PURE SOCIALISM.

It depends.. if a business is raising its prices because cost go up (fuel) and then don't drop their prices when fuel goes down.. its unfair especially if its a monopoly position like many things in Thailand.

[Strangebrew]

No worries You can keep charging farangs the standard double the price.

[coulson]

This is like talking to an wall the Greedy pricks won't lower the prices Business is all about profit,,,,that's the only thing they are thinking about.

I suppose operating a business should be about making a loss instead of a profit?

Where did you work? If they operated at a loss would they have been able to pay you?

It is extraordinarily difficult to operate a business when you ain't makin' no money.

Crying about businesses making money is PURE SOCIALISM.

It's also ridiculous that banks have been asked to increase financing these SMBs that won't be profitable.

Get them started, demand goods prices drop, what next.....tax them more (increased revenue has been brought up recently).

If this is some sort of stimulus philosophy then i think the mental stimulus issue needs to be addressed before any effective financial one might see the light of day.

Edited January 25, 2016 by coulson

[coulson]

Last time I was in Phuket (10 years ago) I stopped into a (dead) girly bar filled with dogs, ordered a Jack & Coke and decided to leave about the time it hit my table.

650 baht was my bill for a single Jack/Coke.

I know very little about Phuket, and do not care to learn any more about the place.

I'm an old Pattaya hand too. Phuket is off the charts.

I lived in that crazy place Pattaya for years. If all of Thailand was like Phuket I would have never considered living in Thailand.

It is utterly venomous.

650????? Extortion!!

You sure you didn't leave with someone tied to your elbow?