BANGKOK, 20 May 2011 – The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) has reported that over 3,200 complaints had been filed via the DIT hotline 1569 in the first four months of 2011, one-third of which are on expensive product prices.
There were 3,214 complaints filed with the hotline, of which 1,248 cases were about expensive product prices while 1,966 others asked for advices. The figures for the whole year of 2010 were recorded at 4,488 cases, of which 1,703 cases were on expensive goods while 2,785 cases asked for advices.
Most of the complaints were about expensive product prices, failure to display price tags and overpricing. Food and beverages were complained the most, followed by goods in the agricultural sector and personal care products respectively.
Palm oil has been receiving most of the complaints from the beginning of this year due to shortage and overpriced sales. Sugar is also another product in the list. In certain areas, sugar is sold at 26-30 baht per kilogram, up from the regulated price of 23.5 baht per kilogram.
Other complaints were associated with pork price as it went up from 110-120 baht per kilogram to 140-150 baht per kilogram and used to peak to as high as 180 baht per kilogram. Prices of dishes sold in food stalls and food shops have been skyrocketing following rising product prices.
