The government plans to reintroduce its initiative to cut consumer prices after the seven-day campaign last Dec 24-30 as part of a New Year gift to the public proved a great success.
The new campaign could be held in May and might be extended to 10 days, Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said yesterday after meeting with 35 representatives of modern trade outlets, manufacturers and rice packers.
Chatchai: Boosting consumer spending
"Most of these operators viewed the New Year campaign as a success. It helped to boost their sales and consumer spending," he said.
"They're willing to participate in a relaunch."
Under the seven-day campaign, retailers and suppliers agreed to cut their product prices at 12,800 outlets nationwide by 10-70%.
The retailers were Tesco Lotus, Makro, Big C Supercenter, Central Department Store, Robinson Department Store, The Mall Group, Tang Hua Seng, Tops Supermarket, Foodland, MaxValu, JC Mart, 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson 108 and CP Freshmart.
The campaign lowered the cost of living by an estimated 15 billion baht.
An annual survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said the campaign played a part in driving New Year celebrations, with spending during the festive period estimated at 117 billion baht, up by 5.1% from the previous year.
Gen Chatchai said the government would try to convince small-scale outlets and small and medium-sized enterprises to participate this time around.
It is also organising the Thailand Grand Sales event, offering special discounts for foreign shoppers, he said.
An appropriate time period is being considered, but a Commerce Ministry source said it was "highly possible" that the discount programme would be held periodically throughout the year.
In a related development, Suchart Sinrat, deputy director-general of the Internal Trade Department, yesterday said on-site inspections by state officials found prices of most food remained stable.
Prices of most ingredients used in food production were also stable and remained relatively low, he said.
Food vendors therefore have no any excuse for raising cooked food prices, Mr Suchart said.
However, he admitted that during the coming Chinese New Year festival, prices of certain fruits, particularly oranges, might be subject to increases because of higher demand.