Thai Commerce Ministry assists mom-and-pop shops

BANGKOK, March 25 (TNA) - In an attempt to assist people suffering from rising cost of living, the government has given an approval to inject 1.62 billion baht to help mom-and-pop shops in which about 20 items of food necessary for daily life will be displayed at prices cheaper than the market, said Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom on Saturday. Food including rice, eggs and cooking oil with prices cheaper than the market will be sold at 2,000 mom-and-pop shops in Bangkok as well as outlying provinces and 15 major provinces, Boonsong said. He said the government plans to sell goods necessities at 8,000 mom-and-pop shops nationwide eventually and this project could help about 10 million people as goods prices will be 20 per cent cheaper than the market price and could lower their expenses by approximately 360 billion baht yearly. Industry Minister M.R. Pongvas Svasti, meanwhile, reiterated that both his and commerce ministries have laid out measures to control prices of consumer goods and have found that most industrial entrepreneurs could absorb rising global oil prices and the domestic daily minimum wage which will be increased this April. Owners of several large-sized industrial plants have confirmed that they have no plan to relocate their production plants elsewhere following the massive flood which hit Thailand late last year. However, some major factories have planned to expand investment in Thailand’s neighbouring countries. Statistics released by the government-run Board of Investment (BoI) show that firms seeking its promotional privileges this February rose 33 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year with total investment over 60 billion baht. This showed that local and foreign investors are still interested in investing in the kingdom. (TNA)