BANGKOK, 21 August 2012 – The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) has told an instant noodle producer to submit a request for price adjustment to the department if it can no longer shoulder the high production costs.
Thai President Foods, producer of Mama, earlier stated that it was suffering from rising production costs. It is thus reviewing the costs in order to determine whether it is necessary to raise the instant noodle price by one baht per pack, from six baht to seven.
In response, DIT Director-General Vatchari Vimooktayon revealed that although the price pegging scheme by the Commerce Ministry is effective until September 30, any entrepreneurs feeling the need to increase their prices can file a request to the department for permission to do so. She said at the moment no requests have been received yet.
On the other hand, Ms Vatchari believed most instant noodle producers can maintain their prices for now as the price of wheat flour, which is the main ingredient, has not been raised much. In addition, she stated that many of them might not want to increase their prices because, once the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) takes effect in 2015, they will have to compete with low-priced products from China and Vietnam.
