The cabinet yesterday approved the new price control list, adding onions but removing sweetened condensed creamer, condensed milk, recombined milk and filled milk because of those products' subsiding popularity.
According to Maj Gen Athisit Chainuwat, the deputy government spokesman, domestic onion prices have seen a drastic fall after a flood of imports and onion smuggling from neighbouring countries.
According to the Commerce Ministry, onion imports surged by 144% in 2018 to 89,205 tonnes from 36,492 tonnes in 2017.
Nonetheless, the number of product and service items on the state price control list remains unchanged at 52 items this year, including 46 goods and six services.
The price control list covers essential items for daily use such as food, consumer products, farm-related products (fertilisers, pesticides, animal feed, tractors, rice harvesters), construction materials, paper, petroleum and medicines.
Listed foods include garlic, paddy, milled rice, corn, eggs, cassava, wheat flour, yoghurt, powdered/fresh milk, sugar, vegetable/animal oil and pork.
Consumer products include detergents, sanitary napkins and toilet paper.
Businesses making or selling listed products are required to inform the authorities of their production costs and seek approval before any price increases.
According to Maj Gen Athisit, the government is keeping tapioca and tapioca products on the list and extending product items to cover cassava stems.
The stems had to be put under control because of the ongoing widespread cassava mosaic virus.
In other news, the cabinet yesterday approved 751 million baht from the central budget in fiscal 2019 for the State Railway of Thailand to hire consultants to conduct a detailed design of the second stage of the Nakhon Ratchasima-Nong Khai high-speed rail project.