BANGKOK, 11 September 2012 – Mr. Manoon Siriwan, an energy expert, has warned that the 300-baht minimum wage policy that is to be enforced next year will result in a rise of oil production cost.
Mr. Manoon said that next year, the production costs of oil retailers will rise due to the government’s 300-baht minimum wage policy, which will come into effect nationwide on January 1st, 2013, as the oil business heavily relies on labors.
Furthermore, since the oil marketing margin has remained unchanged at 1.50 baht per liter for several years, he viewed that retailers should consider increasing the rate soon in a bid to safeguard against losses even though oil prices will be affected. The expert went on the say that the government should speedily conduct a research on the matter in order to adjust the marketing margin to a more appropriate level.
Additionally, Mr. Manoon also expressed worries over the government’s NGV price restructuring policy that is still under study. He noted that if no changes are made within this year, PTT Plc will have to continue bearing the burden from the retail NGV price that is lower than the production cost. As a consequence, the company will need to slow down its NGV investment, which will eventually have an impact on consumers.
Information and Source
Correspondent : Thammarat Pramotmaneerat
Rewriter : Surapan Laotharanarit Surapan Laotharanarit
National News Bureau & Public Relations : http://thainews.prd.go.th
