Cheap fairs for low earners

The fairs will be a means of providing cheap consumer goods to people suffering from the higher cost of living.

The money will support the Commerce Ministry's "Blue Flag" project, under which the ministry will organise 300 cheap-price fairs in the course of the next fiscal year, focusing particularly on small rural communities where people have lower incomes.

The project is part of government efforts to curb rising inflation, which surged to 8.9 per cent year on year last month, the highest in a decade. Economic experts expect the inflation rate to reach double-digits in the second half of the year, driving the country's annual inflation rate above the Commerce Ministry's target of 5-5.5 per cent.

Commerce permanent secretary Siripol Yodmuangcharoen yesterday said the ministry was considering revising its annual inflation target upwards to 7-8 per cent on expectations the average oil price for the year would rise to US$125 (Bt4,200) per barrel.

The ministry's current target of 5-5.5-per-cent annual inflation is based on an average oil price of $105 a barrel.

The price of oil now represents 11.54 per cent of the ministry's inflation calculation, and it is considered after rental fees.

"The department will organise cheap-price fairs every month, especially for those in remote districts, to help reduce their cost of living," said Internal Trade Department director-general Yangyong Phuangrach.

Each fair will offer a wide variety of goods, including food, seasoning and dairy-food necessities that are being supplied by producers cooperating with the project. Each fair will also have a "special moment", or one hour in which low-priced goods are offered for sale.

Yangyong said the cheap-price fairs had received a good response from consumers. Although some traders have complained the project interferes with market mechanisms, it will be continued as an effective measure to reduce costs for consumers and curb inflation.

Meanwhile, the Internal Trade Department is drafting a recommended price for fertiliser as a guideline for traders and to fix fair retail prices for farmers.

Under the plan, fertiliser traders must sell their goods below fixed ceiling prices, which will be adjusted on a monthly basis in accordance with world fertiliser costs, which in turn follow rising oil prices.

After a meeting with the department, Thai Fertiliser and Agricultural Marketing Association president Plengsak Prakaspasat said traders supported the recommended price regime in creating a fair system for both traders and consumers.

Fertiliser prices have been escalating rapidly, following the price of oil. The ministry's system should allow traders to adjust their prices based on real costs of raw materials, while farmers are charged fair prices, he said.