Retail panel's first meet

It is expected that the committee will focus on controlling certain types of retail and wholesale businesses and restricting operating zones as it found that some mod¬ern traders had aggressively expanded into small communities, while dumping prices in line with wholesale businesses.

The move came after the Cabinet yes¬terday gave approval to the ministry to set up the panel to control retail and wholesale businesses before passing the draft of the retail and wholesale business law.

Committee members include represen¬tatives from the Commerce Ministry, the Interior Ministry, private retail and whole¬sale enterprises and consumerprotection organisations. It is chaired by Yangyong Phuangrach, directorgeneral of the Internal Trade Department.

Yangyong said the committee would focus on protecting traditional shops because the ministry had found that mod¬ern retailers had hurt many types of tradi¬tional retail and wholesale businesses.

Business that would be protected are small retail outlets for consumer goods, as well as traditional specialty shops such as stationery stores, book stores, fresh markets and One Tambon One Product shops.

He said the ministry would hear comments from all retailers and wholesalers on how to efficiently manage businesses based on a fair playing field.