The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) has vowed to put price caps on 18 consumer products amid accusations that the prices of some brands of seasoning sauces and detergent have risen sharply recently, according Chakra Yodmani, deputy director-general of the DIT.
The department will have a meeting with representatives of the retail and wholesale segments next week to discuss the issue and make sure that certain items are guaranteed to be in stock during the Songkran Festival.
Mr Chakra said 18 consumer products sold at wholesale and reselling markets must remain the same. They include instant noodles, fresh and raw cooking materials such as meat and eggs, canned food, packaged rice, seasoning sauces, vegetable oils, soft drinks, dairy products, electric appliances, detergents, fertilisers, insecticides, pet food, steel, cement, paper, pills and medical supplies.
However, the price of a 15-kilogramme cylinder of liquefied propane gas (LPG) rose by one baht per kilogramme, from 318 baht to 333 baht, yesterday.
Under government policy it would continue to rise by one baht a month until June. Over three months the price of cooking gas would jump by 45 baht per cylinder.
Mr Chakra said the cooking gas price hike had been small should not provide justification for food producers to follow suit, and that the DIT has launched 25 mobile trucks and 50 low-price shops to offer 47 essential products for people in Bangkok.
The project kicked off yesterday and runs until the end of April.