Thai Commerce Ministry: Inflation up 1.23% in April

[webfact]

Commerce Ministry: Inflation up 1.23% in April

 

   

BANGKOK, 2 May 2019 (NNT) - The rise in the prices of fresh food due to the drought situation which causes damage to the agricultural products and the energy prices that begin to rise make the inflation rate in April 2019 rise to 1.23 percent but the Commerce Ministry is maintaining its target inflation bracket for 2019 at between 0.7 and 1.7 percent.

 

Ms. Phimchanok Wornkhorphorn, Director General of the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, reported on the inflation rate in April 2019.

 

From the prices of 422 items of goods that were used to calculate the inflation rate, the prices of 243 items of them have risen especially the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages which have gone up by 2.20 percent.

 

The prices of pork and fresh vegetables such as fresh chillies, green onions and string beans have risen by 12.74 percent due to the extremely hot weather and the drought crisis that is likely to be more severe than last year causing fast spoilage and a decreased number of vegetables entering the market.

 

Prices of other products that are not food and beverages have increased by 0.67 percent due to the energy prices that have risen for two consecutive months in accordance with the energy prices in the world market.

 

The house rent and public transport fares have also been raised by 1.9 percent which causes the inflation rate to rise by 0.02 - 0.03 percent, resulting in the inflation rate in April 2019 to increase by 1.23 percent, slightly lower than the previous month at 1.24 percent.

 

For the overall picture for the first four months of this year, the inflation rate rose by 0.86 percent, still in the Ministry of Commerce’s target inflation bracket for 2019 at between 0.7 and 1.7 percent.

 

The prices of 84 products are still stable and the prices of 95 products such as tangerines, rambutans, garlic and white shrimps have been reduced.

 

The authorities are still considering the raise in minimum wages because it can partly affect the cost of production of products.

 

She opined that there should be a rise in wages because they have not been adjusted for a long time but they must be adjusted according to the suitability of each area because the cost of living in each province is different.

 

She expressed her confidence that the overall prices of products and services are still at a stable level and consumption still has a positive outlook so the Commerce Ministry is maintaining its target inflation bracket for 2019 at between 0.7 and 1.7 percent.

 

 

-- © Copyright nnt 2019-05-02

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info