For the first time in fifty years, five Thai instant noodle producers have joined forces to ask the Ministry of Commerce to allow them to raise the price of their products within a week, reports the Thai daily. Bangkok Post.
According to Pun Paniangvait of Thai President Foods, producer of the Mama noodles, the makers are asking for the packet to drop from 6 to 8 baht (from 0.17 to 0.22 euro cents). A request explained by the inflation of the price of raw materials.
The price of palm oil has tripled while that of wheat has grown by 20 to 30% in one year. Garlic and chilli took 8-35% increase while the prices of plastic used for packaging increased by 12-15%.
Only two adjustments since 1997
The inflation index in the kingdom reached 7.61% in July, slightly below the record recorded the previous month when this rate was the highest for 14 years, according to The Guardian. Manufacturers believe they are producing at a loss if they sell their production on the domestic market and turn to exports.
Instant noodles are among the commodities whose price is under the control of the Ministry of Commerce, such as eggs and cooking oil. They are very popular especially in view of their low price. And, remember Bangkok Posttheir price has only been adjusted twice”from 4.5 to 5 baht in 1997 and from 5 to 6 baht in 2008”. These two years were marked by financial crises.
The director general of internal trade acknowledged, according to the daily, the existence of a significant increase in costs, in particular of wheat flour and energy, due to the combined effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war. in Ukraine.