Consumers must brace for more price rises

The ministry has received price-increase applications from 73 producers of consumer goods covering 1,439 items in 19 categories. All are seeking compensation for massive rises in production costs brought about by skyrocketing oil prices and escalating raw-material costs.

The ministry's Price Consideration Committee has already allowed an increase of Bt5.50 per litre bottle of palm and soybean cooking oil, with retail prices rising from Bt47.50 to Bt52 and Bt49.50 to Bt55, respectively. The ministry is currently awaiting the commerce minister's agreement to the price rise, which should take effect early next month.

A ministry source said the price structure of each product was being considered before increases were allowed, in order to ensure a minimum effect on consumers.

"The ministry has already allowed palm- and soybean-oil producers to increase their retail prices, effective next month. However, for other goods the ministry is giving priority to steel, milk, fertiliser and animal feed," the source said.

Steelmakers are seeking a hike in the price of steel rod from Bt38,405 a tonne to Bt42,950 and for steel sheet from Bt39,000 a tonne to Bt48,250. They say raw-materials costs have risen 98-147 per cent and scrap steel prices are up from Bt12 to between Bt17 and Bt18 per kilogram.

Condensed-milk producers want a 230-gram can to go up from Bt23 to Bt34 and fresh-milk suppliers want Bt11 for a 250cc carton instead of the present Bt9.50. Daily-foodstuff manufacturers say the cost of raw milk has risen from Bt14.50 to between Bt16 and Bt18 per kilogram, powdered milk from Bt4,200 to Bt4,600 a tonne and sugar from Bt14.95 to Bt19.58 a kilogram.

Fertiliser producers want the retail price range for different formulas to rise from between Bt10,160 and Bt20,050 per tonne to between Bt14,200 and Bt32,800. They say the costs of their raw materials have risen a sharp 126-322 per cent from last year.

Animal-feed producers want chicken feed to rise from Bt436 per 30-kilogram bag to Bt532 and pig feed to go up from Bt364 a bag to Bt489.

Other food and consumer products in the price-rise queue include canned fish, powdered and processed coffee, rice vermicelli, processed food, pesticide, rubber tyres, car batteries, detergents and cement.

Under the ministry's price-control measures, it will first ask producers to maintain current retail prices as long as possible. However, goods that rely on imported raw materials, which have seen rising costs, will be granted increases based on reasonable prices and correct timing.

Meanwhile, Internal Trade Department director-general Yangyong Phuangrach said the Commerce Ministry would inspect all retailers, in order to prevent price speculation on vegetable cooking oil before the retail-price rise takes effect on August 1.