DIT asks firms manufacturing sugary drinks to cut prices

[snoop1130]

DIT asks firms manufacturing sugary drinks to cut prices

By The Nation

 

DIT deputy director-general Prayoth Benyasut

 

The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) has asked manufacturers of sugary drinks to cut prices by Bt2-3 to reduce the burden on people.

 

DIT deputy director-general Prayoth Benyasut said the department had issued a letter to companies asking them to cut prices after a number of brands raised prices by more than Bt10 per bottle.

 

“This price adjustment followed the Excise Department’s sugar tax, which took effect on October 1 last year,” he explained. “We recently received good news that some manufacturers of sugary drinks have reduced prices by Bt2-3 per bottle.” 

 

He said a weakening baht may not cause manufacturers of the drinks to increase product prices though if the currency weakens by a further Bt1 per dollar, importers will have to buy the products at a higher price.

 

“During the prolonged baht appreciation, no company issued a letter saying they would reduce their product prices, so we will not allow both product and raw-material importers to increase prices, except in the case that costs have increased significantly,” said Prayoth.

 

He said manufacturers seeking to raise prices must first take into account a number of factors, including a weakening currency, the diesel fuel price, energy prices, the minimum wage, taxes, and other costs.

 

“We will not allow an increase in prices if the weakening currency causes imports to be more expensive but other costs are still at a low level,” he added.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30381961

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-02-11

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[chickenslegs]

He wants the poor to be able to afford their sugary drinks? What T<deleted>!

 

Cigarettes prices have also increased. Spare a thought for those poor smokers.

[DrTuner]

Stop drinking the bloody obesity inducing <deleted> instead.

[YetAnother]

9 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

to cut prices by Bt2-3 to reduce the burden on people.

 

when thai business owners feel stressed , they Always Increase price; this guy is out of touch

[rvaviator]

Crazy stuff .... The cost to Thai health care will keep climbing ... Sugar ... is just bad bad ....

[Chang_paarp]

Wan't it just a month or so ago they were going to introduce a tax on sugary drinks to reduce use and improve health and dental outcomes?

[RotBenz8888]

Their low calorie set genes just can't handle the increasing amount of fat and sugar in foods and drinks. Worst of all, they don't seem understand the problem. We have an obesity and diabetes epidemic coming.

[DLock]

Old Fatty seen a few sugary drinks in his time.

 

But why make sugary drinks cheaper and easier for kids to consume...?

 

Make them more expensive to help pay for blood pressure and diabetes medications.

 

...and Fatty...don't fall asleep in a bowling alley...

[Matzzon]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) has asked manufacturers of sugary drinks to cut prices by Bt2-3 to reduce the burden on people.

What burden on people. Why would they need sugary drinks. Is that suddenly essential for survival? This man can not have much more than air between his ears.

[BritManToo]

I thought they just put a tax on sugary drinks.

[bkkcanuck8]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

I thought they just put a tax on sugary drinks.

They did or at least they were going to...  I guess long term planning is not a strength.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Chang_paarp said:

Wan't it just a month or so ago they were going to introduce a tax on sugary drinks to reduce use and improve health and dental outcomes?

 

They did...

 

Quote

 

a number of brands raised prices by more than Bt10 per bottle.

 

“This price adjustment followed the Excise Department’s sugar tax, which took effect on October 1 last year,”

 

 

So the government raised the tax, then some products increased their prices by 10 baht per bottle. And now the government is asking some of them to give back 2 or 3 baht per bottle.

 

Net result -- prices are up 7 or 8 baht per bottle over what they were previously, if the OP article is to be believed.

 

Just chalk it up to another round of bringing happiness back to the Thai people!

 

Edited February 11, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[DoctorG]

Besides raising revenue, a sugar-tax is supposed to reduce consumption, in the interests of the nation's health.

Mr Chubby now wants them to reduce the price.

Deep thinker - NOT.

[tlandtday]

12 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Stop drinking the bloody obesity inducing <deleted> instead.

Not so easy it is highly addictive and should be monitored as a drug.

[madmitch]

By the look of him the DIT director is probably p!ssed off that his personal weekly drinks bill has gone up 200 baht!

[Billy Bloggs]

Or did they raise the price of all their drinks by the same amount( I would say a big yes to that one), so government tell them no sugar or sugar free drinks should be 10 baht cheaper and start from there.

[Scott Tracy]

Not very joined up government.

 

Health Dept increased the price by a sugar tax, now DIT wants the prices reduced. Not a good idea. Added sugar is unnecessary in any healthy drinks. 

Sweetened milk, now there is an abomination if ever there was one...

[300sd]

This headline is the opposite of what should be done as usual, because too many Thai people do not understand, or want to understand, the consequences of the sugar they consume. 

 

 

[Dexlowe]

Back here in my little corner of Farangworld, I'm increasingly disgusted at all the flubbery people galooping around the place. Just saw a 10yo girl, who should not be overweight, with thick rolls of fat around her waist. Her parents were tubs of lard. Wisen up, people.

[Oziex1]

14 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Their low calorie set genes just can't handle the increasing amount of fat and sugar in foods and drinks. Worst of all, they don't seem understand the problem. We have an obesity and diabetes epidemic coming.

Coming? It's here, all over the world.

 

Sugar is the new tobacco, and the nobs who run it are behaving just like big tobacco, denial and lies.

[cooked]

Looks like the DIT has been 'consulting' with the sugar industry but not with the Health Department. 

How about taxing cars less and making public transport more expensive?

[tomazbodner]

Amazing. Thailand government raises taxes on sugary drinks to stop people drinking them. Now forcing manufacturers to lower the prices so people can afford to drink them. Are they going to cigarette manufacturers asking for lower prices also?

[justin case]

add 10, then forced to deduct by 2-3 and called a hero...

 

thai people should be made aware that sugar is cause of T2D, cancer, etc...

[timendres]

Does Thailand have some sort of factory churning out these government clowns?

[ndreamer]

14 hours ago, timendres said:

Does Thailand have some sort of factory churning out these government clowns?

If they think soft drinks are  not affordable what about cooking oil it near on doubled in price after Christmas.  

40baht is a significant chunk of a minimum wage thai. 

[Assurancetourix]

On 2/11/2020 at 7:37 PM, YetAnother said:

when thai business owners feel stressed , they Always Increase price; this guy is out of touch

And for once they would do something useful because sugar (like salt for that matter but it will be for another debate) is a poison for humanity;
instead of lowering prices they had better raise it significantly.
or better remove this filth from human food.

A member talks about it a little above; and I give this example: in France, the best-selling cigarette packet (no brand on a forum) will be very soon at 10 euros per packet of twenty.
It is starting to make a nice sum.

 

But the big problem of Europe where everything should be at the same price is that precisely everything is not at the same price;
contraband from Andorra where tobacco is not or very little tax has a bright future ahead of it.

[Assurancetourix]

19 hours ago, justin case said:

add 10, then forced to deduct by 2-3 and called a hero...

 

thai people should be made aware that sugar is cause of T2D, cancer, etc...

They know about that but they don't care ..

Every six months there is a free cholesterol test at the "sala 'in my village;
half of the village is diabetic ...
It doesn't matter, they have seven lives, like cats ...

[Srikcir]

On 2/11/2020 at 7:26 PM, snoop1130 said:

“We will not allow an increase in prices if the weakening currency causes imports to be more expensive but other costs are still at a low level,”

This is an example of government price controls that distort the CPI.

If the government allowed a free market the real CPI might be double of what's reported. And that would definitely weaken the baht, albeit to the benefit of Thai exports!

[tingtong]

the sugary drink taxes were no-so-coincidentally raised the price of the zero sugar variants too...

it was a cheap excuse.

or actually a +7% raise, not that cheap...given the 1-2% official inflation rate.