The governement is increasing subsidies… meanwhile businesses (affected by growing Producer Prices, look at the chart here) continue, slowly but surely, to increase their own prices.
And this will fuel the CPI (inflation) for the coming months.
-The Permanent Secretary for Transport and the Thai Airways International (THAI) board president, Mr. Chaisawat Kittipornpaibul, insists THAI will increase its air fares of first class and business class trips due to high production costs and energy crisis.
We should say… “again”. Airlines are suffering because of fuel costs. But particularily Thai Airways (bad management, political influences etc. read here).
-The board of the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority will decide next Thursday how much the toll for the Don Muang Tollway should be increased.
Governor Pachoen Pairotesak said the subcommittee proposed that the toll for four-wheel vehicles be raised from Bt40 to Bt48, inclusive of Bt3 value-added tax. However, expressway operator Bangkok Expressway proposed Bt55 (Nation)
That would be 20 % increase or… +37 % !
-”The ministry might have to allow the price of unessential products to rise. Retail prices of all products have been frozen since the previous government was in office. The ministry must have a flexible price-control policy to ensure manufacturers do not suffer unduly from rising production costs due to the surge in oil prices,” Mingkwan [Commerce Minister] said.
Asked what he regarded as unnecessary products for healthy living, Mingkwan said the ministry was still studying which products are essential and which are not. For instance, soft drinks are unlikely to be regarded as essential, whereas products on which the ministry will continue to control prices include fertilisers, rice, cooking oil, steel and cement. (Nation)
The Commerce Minister is nothing but a clown. He’s the one who enforces those stupid “prices watch lists” with… yes… soft drinks… since the government nomination !
He’s the one who forbids soft drinks companies to increase their prices… despite a surge of sugar prices (+ 37 % !).
And now, he knows that he will have to give up. Soft drinks are not essential products, exactly like I wrote there.
So the people should not be blinded by the desesperate (and cynic) decisions about subsidies… behind… the reality principle is eventually taking the upper hand.
The inflation tsunami is on the move.
i do have a bit of sympathy for the commerce minister. Its the worst job in the gov as you can not please anyone. The price controlls have been in place for years so to remove them now would smak of desperation.