The Commerce Ministry will hold a meeting next week to consider stringent price-control measures on goods, following the record high 6-per-cent inflation rate in April.

Caretaker Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak will meet with agencies and private organisations to discuss measure to relieve the burden on consumers as climbing oil prices cut into the price of everyday products. The ministry is also worried that the high rate of inflation will mean the country misses its target rate for the year.

Siripol Yodmuangcharoen, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said the agency would also meet with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank of Thailand, the Government Saving Bank and other stakeholders.

The department will ask them to float low-interest loans to manufacturers to help them sell products at lower prices, as well as arrange more "cheap price caravan" events nationwide.

Mobile fairs sell products at prices that are up to 30 per cent lower than market prices.

Also, the department will on Tuesday meet with steel companies to discuss prices in that sector.

Moreover, the ministry yesterday said it had added 20 more products to its watch list to prevent unfair price hikes by manufacturers. This brings the list up to 170 items.

Among the 20 consumer goods are fuel for natural-gas vehicles, five types of medicine, fruit juice, razors, air-laundry machines, radios, socks, school bags, and four fresh-food items.

The department has been monitoring retail price movements of the 20 goods since the beginning of the month.

Meanwhile, Burin Thanatavornlap, president of the Rice Packers Association, said members might ask the ministry to increase retail rice prices by 15 per cent as a result of rising production costs.

The spiking oil price and higher prices associated with the government's rice-pledging scheme has increased packers' production costs by between 10 and 15 per cent this year, said Burin.

"The rice package price has not increased for six years. If the production costs continue increasing gradually in the next three months, we will have to increase our retail price," he said.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation