LPG float price won’t impact food prices

NONTHABURI, July 8 (TNA) -- The government’s decision to float retail prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) would not impact domestic cheap food prices because its cost of a cylinder of 15 kilogrammes of gas jump only 12 stang, said Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general of Internal Trade Department. On Thursday, the Energy Policy Administrative Committee decided to float the LPG price from August 1 and the whole process will be completed three months later. The decision was made following a sharp drop in contract price gas by 32.5 US dollars a tonne to 355 US dollars and it would also allow the government to reduce or eliminate State Oil Fund subsidies which have kept LPG prices low for several years in Thailand. Ms Nuntawan’s remarks were made to calm fears among low-income earners as she said the slight increase in LPG cost would not affect consumers while the float of LPG prices would be in accordance with its prices in the global market. She said the Energy Ministry also has sufficient measures to protect low-income earners and offers discount to cooking gas traders. There are signs that energy prices in the world market would remain low for another 2-3 years and the float price of LPG would not adversely affect costs of goods, especially cooked food in the domestic market, said Ms Nuntawan. (TNA)