Lime
- High Lime Prices: During the dry season (December to April), due to hot and dry weather conditions with little rainfall, lime trees struggle to produce fruit. As a result, fewer limes reach the market, and the fruits are smaller in size, causing inconvenience to consumers.
- Low Lime Prices: During the rainy season (July to September), the weather is conducive to lime production, with regular rainfall leading to an abundant supply. This surplus causes the prices to drop, which in turn creates challenges for farmers.
Solutions
The Department of Internal Trade has taken steps to assist both farmers in cases of low lime prices and consumers in cases of high lime prices by connecting farmers with opportunities to directly sell their lime produce to consumers at various locations. These locations include government agencies, gas stations, and in "Flag" events held at different sites, where limes are sold at reasonable prices to reduce market steps.
Vegetables
Typically, vegetable prices are volatile. During the summer season (March to April), when there is a lack of rain and extreme heat, vegetable growth is hindered, resulting in poor-quality produce and significant losses. This leads to high prices. On the other hand, during the cooler weather, vegetable prices tend to be lower, especially for leafy greens. Vegetable prices are also low during the rainy season.
Solutions
The Department of Internal Trade has taken steps to assist both farmers in cases of low vegetable prices and consumers in cases of high vegetable prices by connecting farmers to opportunities where they can sell their produce directly to consumers at various locations, such as government agencies and gas stations. This helps reduce market intermediaries and streamline the sales process.
Fruits
The fruit season typically runs from April to September, during which fruit prices are low due to the high volume of produce entering the market, with many types of fruit being available simultaneously. As a result, there is an oversupply, leading to a decrease in prices. However, high-quality fruits usually do not face price issues, as they are in demand, especially in export markets. The main problem typically arises with mixed-grade fruits, which may struggle with pricing due to lower demand.
Solutions
-
Domestic Distribution: Establish a linkage for the buying and selling between agricultural groups in production provinces and businesses in destination provinces with high potential.
-
Linking with Modern Trade: Encourage Modern Trade to purchase larger quantities of produce and avoid using price reduction strategies to attract customers, which could negatively affect prices.
-
Connecting with Canning Factories: Promote canning factories to purchase more produce directly from farmers at fair prices.
-
Promoting Direct Sales: Create designated sales locations where farmers can sell their produce directly to consumers at various locations, such as government agencies, gas stations, and events like "Flag" events held at various sites.
Additionally, the Fruit Development and Management Committee, chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives and with the Director-General of the Department of Agricultural Extension as the secretary, oversees the management of the entire system. For both short-term and long-term fruit issues, an integrated approach will be implemented, collaborating between relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, among others.
The Department of Internal Trade has an important mission to oversee the livelihoods of the public and the well-being of farmers by closely monitoring price conditions and product quantities. It aims to prevent price manipulation and unfair pricing. The department implements the following measures to regulate the pricing and quantity of goods:
(1) Monitor the prices and sales behavior of essential consumer goods, agricultural products, and services closely and continuously to prevent and combat price manipulation, consumer exploitation, and unfair business practices. The department ensures that there is an adequate supply of goods for consumers through proactive checks, forecasting potential issues, and issuing early warnings before problems arise with goods and services.
(2) Investigate complaints received through the Department of Internal Trade's consumer price complaint center, "Hotline 1569", to address issues affecting the public.
(3) Establish mobile units at key target points, such as commercial areas and local communities (e.g., Victory Monument, local markets, shopping malls, bus terminals, and Pratunam area), to enable immediate action in response to complaints made via "Hotline 1569".
(1) Price Display: Inspect and advise 232 retailers and 48 service providers to display the correct retail prices and service charges, as well as 30 agricultural product buyers, to ensure they display accurate purchase prices in accordance with legal requirements.
(2) Excessive Profit and Hoarding: Monitor to prevent opportunistic pricing and charging excessively for goods and services. Ensure that there is no hoarding of products by withholding sales without reasonable justification.
(3) Information Disclosure: Ensure that businesses report accurate information about costs, prices, and quantities for products such as chemical fertilizers, milk, instant coffee, detergents, cement, electrical wires, and steel. Conduct random checks to verify that the reported data aligns with actual conditions.
(1) Consumers are protected and able to purchase essential goods at fair prices, with businesses unable to take advantage of price increases, size reductions, or selling at unchanged prices. Goods are available in the correct quantity and are sufficient for consumer needs, with hoarding practices being prevented.
(2) Farmers are able to sell their produce at fair prices, and measures are taken to prevent farmers from being exploited in terms of quantity, weight, and moisture content.
The Central Committee on Pricing of Goods and Services has established the following criteria for determining controlled goods:
- Goods that are essential for living.
- Goods that are used as continuous production factors.
- Market structure with few producers or sellers, where competition is insufficient.
- Goods that require high production techniques and investment, making it difficult for new producers to enter the market.
- Goods that experience frequent price fluctuations or abnormal increases, and occasionally face shortages.
- Goods that are closely linked to and affected by changes in global market prices.
กรมการค้าภายใน ขอส่งแรงใจให้ทหารแนวหน้าที่กำลังปกป้องอธิปไตยผืนแผ่นดินไทย และพี่น้องชาวไทย ขอให้ปลอดภัย
