“We are currently in a transition period between the current government and the new post-election government,” he said yesterday at a press conference after meeting with the management team of the Commerce Ministry. “At this point, it is crucial that the Ministry of Commerce keeps up its efforts to boost both external and internal trade to maintain the level of business sentiment in the country.”

Global trade has not yet recovered and this has damaged Thai exports, he said. This means the Commerce Ministry must further strengthen local trade and promote Thai goods to tourists in secondary cities, Somkid said.

From January to February, exports contracted by 0.16 per cent year on year, according to the Commerce Ministry, which stated their value at Bt1.294 trillion. The Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC) expects exports in March shrank further, resulting in a likely first-quarter contraction of 1 per cent, according to TNSC chairman Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong.

“Some 40 million tourists visit Thailand each year, with the largest portion coming from China,” Somkid said. “Chinese tourists have advanced their consumption habits to use e-payment when shopping both in their home country and overseas.”

Somkid has instructed the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Internal Trade (DIT) to make sure that stores in key tourist areas accept e-payment methods used by Chinese tourists, such as Alipay.

“Thailand should also be looking to sell its goods in tourist areas abroad,” he said. “In other tourist cities around the world, the Commerce Ministry should launch projects to open ‘Thai stores’ that sell Thai goods and which support e-payment to boost exports of goods through tourism.”

Somkid also told the Commerce Ministry to closely monitor commodity prices in order to prevent unnecessary price hikes and prevent the price of agricultural goods from dropping further.

Inflation was 1.24 per cent higher in March than the same month last year. The upward trend has continued for five straight months, driven mainly by the rising prices of fresh produce and oil, the Commerce Ministry reported.

The price of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose 2.38 per cent year on year in March, with prices in the transport and communication sectors increasing 0.76 per cent. The ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office forecast that inflation will be between 0.7 and 1.7 per cent in 2019.

“The Commerce Ministry must be strict and take a strong stand against unnecessary rises in prices and hold the responsible parties accountable,” Somkid said.