BANGKOK, 12 May 2012 – The Prime Minister has instructed the Commerce Ministry to step up its monitoring of the problem of rising goods prices.
Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said on Friday that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had instructed the ministry and the Internal Trade Department to closely watch over the prices of goods and services, which are tied with the cost of living and tend to continue going up.
The PM’s instruction was made during her participation in a meeting on farm product and consumer goods prices, with Mr. Boonsong and the Commerce Ministry’s executives.
The Commerce Minister added that the Premier has suggested all related agencies to probe the price structure from the start of the production to shelves, after having received complaints that farmers were to sell their produce at lower-than-usual prices while consumers were to pay at unusually-higher prices.
PM Yingluck has reportedly stated that anyone found illegally ripping off consumers will have to be punished by laws.
Mr. Boonsong added that the Prime Minister also urged all agencies to lend help to rice growers through the state-initiated rice-pledging scheme.
