Food prices in Thailand rise 80% over past decade

BANGKOK, April.26 (TNA) - The Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research (PIER), under Thailand-based Thammasat University, reports that food prices in the country have increased by up to 80 per cent over the past decade, when the inflation, mirrored through the consumer price index (CPI), has risen by 26 per cent. PIER Director Piti Disyatat told journalists on April 25 that the figures came from a PIER research on domestic food prices during 2006-2016, dubbed the "Big Data" in which the prices of clothes and electronic products, namely computer sets, televisions and mobile phones have, on the other hand, declined with a mild reaction from consumers who, unlike their daily food, buy the products only from time to time. The PIER head of economic research work, Tosapol Apaitan, said that the prices of goods and services in Thai regions have been set significantly different, depending on their costs of productions namely raw materials, wages and transport. Tosapol pointed out that the prices of green curry, for instance, in the southern Thai region and some provinces in the northeastern region have been more expensive than other regions in the country. According to the PIER head of economic research work, the costs of living of people in all Thai regions had stood at 7,000 baht monthly on average during 2006-2016 and rose to 8,500 baht monthly on average in December 2017, but those in such upper southern Thai provinces as Phuket, Phang-nga and Surat Thani were slated the highest at 9,000 baht monthly, while those in such lower northern Thai provinces as Tak, Nakhon Sawan and Petchabun were recorded the lowest at 8,000 baht monthly .A PIER research specialist, Pym Manopimoke, acknowledged, meanwhile, based on a data collection of 24,000 samples of products, the prices of goods and services in Thailand have increased about seven months each on average, but those of food and beverages have increased most often, while those of clothes and apparels have risen more than once a year. The PIER research specialist revealed that, based on the same samples, the prices of goods and services in the domestic entertainment and educational sectors have been unstable most, while those of alcohol and tobacco products have been slighly increased. The PIER research specialist concluded that the production structure and the market demand have more influence on any change of the prices of goods and services on the domestic market than impacts from the Thai government's financial policy. (TNA)