Thai noodle price crisis averted

After some local media outlets reported that noodle prices will rise soon, Thai trade officials claim this isn’t true. The director-general of Thailand’s International Trade Department told the Bangkok Post the department has not yet approved any manufacturers raising their prices. The director-general said the department regularly speaks to instant noodle manufacturers.

He said manufacturers who want to raise prices because of production costs have to submit requests to the department, and were considered on a case-by-case basis. The director-general said manufacturers told the department they have increased wholesale prices and lowered trade discounts on retail shops, but not retail prices. He added that manufacturers are following promises to help cap prices and not burden consumers.

Thailand has been dealing with surging prices this year. In January, the Ministry of Commerce set up war rooms to combat high prices. Prices especially surged on meat, and pork in particular. A government spokesperson said that month that the government would ask manufacturers to cap prices on certain products if soaring prices raised the inflation rate. He said the government expected the inflation rate to 1-3% this year.

The director-general of the International Trade Department said in January that manufacturers who raise their prices must provide details about production costs.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post