BANGKOK, 23 September 2014 The Department of Internal Trade Director-General Chittana Khaiyawannakan revealed after a visit to a fresh market in Nonthaburi that items’ prices have not yet risen substantially, ahead of the vegetarian festival that will kick off this week.
She attributed the unchanging prices of vegetables to the large quantity of crops that had been grown by farmers in anticipation of the heightened demand during the vegetarian food period. The recent round of flooding also did not damage agriculture areas used for growing vegetables.
Ms. Chittana said that compared to the same period of last year, vegetable prices are currently 2-5 baht lower per kilogram. The current prices are also not expected rise substantially during the vegetarian period.
Ms. Chittana added that Ministry of Commerce officials will meet with representatives from the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Thai Industries today (Tuesday) and tomorrow to discuss the projection of items’ prices. If, at the meetings, raw materials’ prices are deemed stable, the ministry may ask manufacturers to refrain from raising their product prices for a period.
