BANGKOK, 28 May 2012 – Consumers may be forced to face a price increase of no less than 5% in electrical appliances from June onward given entrepreneurs inability to bear the burden of increased material and labour costs.
Chairman of the Electrical and Electronics Club under the Federation of Thai Industries, Mr. Supachai Suthipongchai has revealed that the prices of electrical appliances will see a gradual increase of 5% during the second half of the year in line with the higher initial cost of about 10%, caused by price increase of raw materials imported from abroad as well as the 300-baht minimum wage hike.
At present, electrical appliances manufacturers are attempting to control all initial costs to maintain the current product prices. However, they will be obliged to adjust product prices upward if the attempt fails.
Mr. Supachai pointed out that the price increase will vary according to the group of products. Retailers, such as Power Buy, have begun to receive requests to raise the prices, especially in the household appliance group; for instance, 5% increase for air conditioners, 5-7% for washing machines, and 3-5% for refrigerators.
Meanwhile, the electrical appliances market sees a 10% growth year-on-year during the first yearly quarter given the need to buy new electrical appliances to replace those damaged by the flood of 2011. The hot weather has also raised the sales figures of electric fans and air conditioners. Thus, it is expected that the electrical appliance market will see a 10% growth, worth 200 billion baht, this year.
