Thai prices stable despite Israel-Hamas war
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Thai prices stable despite Israel-Hamas war

Oil prices rising but impact limited compared with aftermath of Russian invasion of Ukraine

Local fertiliser prices are down significantly compared with a year ago when prices spiked after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Local fertiliser prices are down significantly compared with a year ago when prices spiked after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has yet to impact domestic product prices as global oil prices remain stable, according to the Commerce Ministry.

Chakra Yodmani, deputy director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said oil remains a key production and transport cost for goods production. Oil prices remain stable compared with last year, when they exceeded US$100 per barrel after Russia invaded Ukraine.

There are no signs of domestic product prices increasing in the near future, Mr Chakra said.

“The department has been coordinating with the Energy Ministry to monitor global oil prices and the prices of several essential imported raw materials, such as chemical fertilisers, herbicides, and raw materials for animal feed production,” he said. “Thailand produces some of these raw materials domestically, but it also imports some from other countries.

“The Israel-Hamas conflict is less likely to impact product prices significantly compared with the Russia-Ukraine conflict because Israel and Hamas are not major crop and fertiliser producers. If there is an impact, it will likely be related to oil prices.”

Mr Chakra said there were 830,000 tonnes of domestic chemical fertilisers in stock at the end of last month, which is sufficient to meet the needs of farmers. Imports over the past eight months totalled 3.44 million tonnes, similar to the same period last year.

He said current chemical fertiliser prices are stable and expected to remain so over the long term.

The current prices of chemical fertilisers have been stable for a long time and are significantly lower than the peak prices in the middle of 2022, he said.

For example, urea fertiliser has fallen by 46%, phosphate fertiliser by 39%, potassium fertiliser by 42%, 21-0-0 fertiliser by 49%, 15-15-15 fertiliser by 32%, and 16-20-0 fertiliser by 26%.

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