Thai retailers, suppliers agree to freeze prices of 500 items for one quarter

Association president Yon Pokesap said on Tuesday that Thailand is suffering from increasing costs of energy and fresh food prices, which affect people at every level, especially people with low income. He said they suffered from both the cost of living and the Covid-19 situation that affected their income. He said freezing the price of products was the correct decision to help people.

However, due to the uncertain situation, they have to evaluate each quarter, especially the energy and fresh food prices, which are the main factors influencing the cost of living.

Yon said he agreed with the government’s attempts to stimulate the economy with schemes, especially the “Kon La Krueng” co-payment subsidy scheme. It will stimulate Thai people to spend more, which will be beneficial for the overall economy. He also said that the government’s ‘Shop Dee Mee Kuen’ [Shop and Payback] scheme also solves the issue directly in the short term with the least amount of budget.

The association has suggested a series of measures that businesses and the government should implement to help Thai people and the business sector solve the problem of rising cost of living and stimulate economic recovery.

• Freeze the prices of essential consumer goods, which the association has agreed to for the first quarter of 2022
• Ensure there are enough consumer goods to meet demand
• Help Thai small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by arranging funds for them through the Digital Supplychain Finance of the Bank of Thailand and the Thai Bankers' Association. The association will expand and create more selling methods for SMEs. The association will maintain the current workforce of 1.1 million people.
• Hasten government spending of the 3.1-trillion baht budget so the money will get into the economic system as soon as possible
• Stabilise the price of energy
• Stimulate the purchasing power of Thai people with economic stimulus schemes

The association has urged the government to consider extending the second phase of the ‘Shop Dee Mee Kuen’ scheme, and increasing the budget per person from 30,000 baht to 100,000 baht.