Bangkok – The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) has expressed the belief that 2019 will be another golden year for agriculture and has prepared proactive measures to maintain the prices of seven products.
DIT Director-General Wichai Pochanakij referred to an assessment that found staple farm goods, such as rice, tapioca and corn, will continue to see strong prices this year, with Hom Mali rice expected to sell at 16-17,000 baht per ton, tapioca at no less than 2.5 baht per kilogram and corn between 9-10 baht per kilogram. Acknowledging that products such as palm oil and coconuts saw price turmoil in the final three months of 2018, Wichai assured producers that assistance is being stepped up with the Provincial Energy Authority (PEA) already committed to buying 160,000 tons of palm oil.
This year, the DIT will keep watch on the production of palm oil, chicken eggs, coconuts, shallots, onions, garlic and seasonal fruits, such as pineapple, stepping in if their prices dip too low.
The department believes price variations resulting from fuel price fluctuations affecting costs will only be short term, and is set to punish any produce sellers using the situation to hike prices.
