The Commerce Ministry will maintain product prices for as long as possible to prevent scarcity, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Tuesday.
He made the remark after the ministry slammed the brakes on manufacturers planning to to raise the price of powdered and ready-to-drink milk due to rising production costs.
“If there is a shortage of supply, consumers would prefer to pay more than not have the product at all,” he said.
He added that the ministry will consider manufacturers’ requests case by case. He admitted that production costs had risen sharply due to rising fuel and electricity prices.
“The ministry will take care of farmers, entrepreneurs, manufacturers and consumers to live in harmony and mitigate their burden as much as possible,” he added.
Companies holding seminars or exhibitions in Thailand will get a fairly large corporate tax break, the government announced on Tuesday.
This measure was approved at the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday in a bid to promote domestic tourism and consumption.
The tax break will be offered from July 15 until the end of the year, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said.
Events held in Bangkok and provinces categorised as secondary tourism provinces by the Revenue Department will warrant a tax break of two times the cost of the event. Events held elsewhere in Thailand will get a tax break of 1.5 times the expense.
The government expects the measure to generate up to 2.2 billion baht in revenue for the local tourism industry.
The Cabinet also approved a reduction in the fee for registration, transfer and mortgage of land owned by farmers from 2 per cent to 1.01 per cent of the estimated price. This move is to help alleviate their financial burden.
Excise tax on diesel fuel will be reduced by 5 baht per litre for another two months — from July 21 to September 20 — in a bid to help alleviate the financial burden on people.
Anews source said on Tuesday that a Cabinet meeting has approved the proposal by the Energy Ministry. The move will cost the government 2 billion baht in reduced revenue, but will keep the diesel price at the current level of around 35 baht per litre.
In February, the government had decided to cut excise tax by 3 baht per litre, down from 5.99 baht, from February 18 to May 20. On May 21, the cut was increased to 5 baht per litre to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices and remains effective until July 20.
As of July 10, the Oil Fuel Fund which provides subsidy for diesel is 110.91 billion baht in deficit, the highest ever. Of the total, 72.53 billion baht is from the oil account and 38.38 billion baht is from the liquefied petroleum gas account. The fund has around 3.5 billion baht of cashflow.
The Mae Kha Canal in Chiang Mai’s Muang district is being given a new look, and many social-media users hope it will come out looking like Seoul’s Cheonggyecheon stream or the Otaru canal in Japan.
Chiang Mai Municipality is working on the first phase of the project from Rakaeng Bridge to Kat Kom Market, which includes tackling wastewater issues and improving the landscape.
Canalside residents, meanwhile, have already started planting vegetables, flowers and other shrubberies in the concrete blocks to further beautify the area.
Napat Prasertdee, director of Chiang Mai Municipality’s Office of Technicians, said the first phase costs 22 million baht and includes building pavements and setting up a wastewater management system along the canal. He added that this phase is expected to be completed in about a month and a half before the second phase can begin. About 20 million baht has been earmarked for the second phase.
“Chiang Mai Municipality aims to improve the look of the Mae Kha canal and make it more environmentally friendly and accessible to people,” he said, adding that residents have been advised to keep the area clean, so it can be promoted as another landmark of the northern city.
Mae Kha canal is one of Chiang Mai’s most important waterways, but overdevelopment and bad city planning has clogged up a lot of the 11km-long channel, turning it into a source of bad smell in the city.
The municipality initially aims to beautify and clean some 4km of the canal.
The “Tour Tiew Thai” travel subsidy has been extended and packages can be booked until October 31 for travel before the end of December.
The co-payment scheme sees the government covering up to 40 per cent of the cost capped at 5,000 baht per trip. The subsidy, which aims to boost domestic tourism, will cover 200,000 people.
The subsidy is only applicable to Thai nationals above age 18, and they can register via www.ทัวร์เที่ยวไทย.ไทย. Packages must be purchased from selected agencies and should be for at least two nights.
Benefits under the Tour Tiew Thai campaign cannot be used in conjunction with the “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” (We Travel Together) campaign.
As of press time, 65,545 rights had been snapped up, leaving 134,455 up for grabs.
Tour Tiew Thai was originally set to run from February to May but was extended to October 31 due to an underwhelming response.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand reported that as of May 31, 63,506 people had used their Tour Tiew Thai benefits, with travel packages from 375 operators sold.
The campaign has generated 728.16 million baht in revenue, with 445.31 million baht being spent by travellers and 282.85 million baht provided in subsidies by the government.
Most Covid-19 patients in Bangkok have been infected with the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, the Public Health Ministry said on Monday.
Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said up to 78 per cent of foreign visitors have also tested positive for BA.4/5, while 34 per cent of patients upcountry have been infected by the subvariants.
“The BA.4/5 subvariants have started overtaking the Omicron BA.1/2 subvariants, but not too quickly,” he said.
He said 164 patients infected with BA.4/5 subvariants in Bangkok have shown mild symptoms, while 10 patients have developed severe symptoms.
In the provinces, 309 patients infected by the BA.4/5 subvariants have developed mild symptoms, while 45 are suffering severe symptoms.
“Initially we found that most patients infected with BA.4/5 subvariants developed severe symptoms, but there is not enough information,” he said.
Citing the World Health Organisation’s data, he said the global number of patients infected with Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 has risen from 11 per cent and 37 per cent to 12 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively.
He also pointed out that people who had been infected by the Omicron BA.1/2 subvariants can be infected by BA.4/5 as Japanese lab research shows that the mutation in the BA.4/5 subvariants’ spike protein allows them to escape immunity and spread quickly.
“It is clear that Omicron BA.4/5 infections in Thailand are likely to surge,” he said.
Supakit asked hospitals to submit details on patients who developed lung inflammation, had to be plugged to a respirator or succumbed to the virus, so the department can get a clearer picture.
He has also asked people to adhere to all Covid-19 prevention measures and get their booster jabs to contain the spread of Covid-19 as well as prevent the risk of developing severe symptoms or death.
The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) believes foreigners will flock to Thailand in the coming weeks now that the baht has dropped to around 36 to the US dollar from about 34 baht in May and June.
“Aweaker baht will bring back foreign visitors as they need to spend less for the same amount of products and services,” ATTA president Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn said on Monday. “However, how much effect this has on the overall tourism industry is yet to be evaluated as several countries are still suffering from economic recession.
“In the coming weeks we will see an increase in high-spending tourists, but most of those with mid to low budgets will probably not be visiting Thailand soon,” he said.
“Furthermore, rising inflation and global fuel price is also hindering the recovery of the global tourism industry, despite efforts by different countries to jumpstart their tourism sector after more than two years of Covid-19 shutdown.”
Sisdivachr added that a weaker baht will also affect Thais planning to travel overseas, as their spending power will be diminished.
“Again, most travellers will be big spenders, as they are probably not worried about having to pay extra,” he said.
The Bank of Thailand reported that this year the baht rose to the highest at 32.83 baht to the US dollar in February, before dropping to 34.57 in May and 35.13 in June. On July 7 the baht dropped to 36.36 baht to the US dollar, the lowest so far this year.
Ministry of Public Health reported on Tuesday (July 12) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 1,679 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19 and have been admitted to hospitals.
Death toll increased by 23, while 2,115 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 2,325,098.
The country’s total caseload from Covid-19 stands at 4,548,533 – 4,494,034 of whom have recovered, 23,617 are still in hospitals and 30,882 have died.
Separately, another 2,037 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 3,162 their second shot and 20,538 a booster, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to 140,479,700.
According to Worldometer, confirmed cases globally had risen to 561.83 million on Tuesday, 534.71 million of whom have recovered, 20.74 million are active cases (38,149 in severe condition) and 6.37 million have died (up by 962).
Thailand ranks 26th in the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 90.49 million, followed by India with 43.65 million, Brazil with 32.94 million, France with 32.37 million and Germany with 29.18 million.
Construction of the high-speed railway linking Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao airports will kick off in October, a senior official announced on Monday.
Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office, said the construction schedule was presented at the EEC committee’s meeting on Monday. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Kanit said the EEC was told that the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has completed the expropriation of land for the project and the areas have been handed over to the contractor – a CP-led consortium called AERA1.
He added that the contractor has moved into the construction sites to start preparations, such as building roads and factories for making pre-fabricated parts of the railway. The actual construction is expected to start in October.
Kanit said the railway should be up and running by 2026.
The Progressive Movement on Monday submitted 80,772 signatures it has gathered nationwide to Parliament, petitioning the amendment of Article 14 of the Constitution and demanding the shifting of power from the central government to local administrative organisations (LAOs).
At least 50,000 signatures are required to have a draft amendment considered in Parliament.
The petition was presented by the movement’s director, Pannika Wanich, addressed to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai, and was received by Phongsri Tarapoom, member of House of Representatives’ working group on political affairs.
Pannika said the movement was able to gather signatures from supporters in just three months of campaigning between April 1 and June 30. “We exceeded the goal quickly as we made everyone understand that every province should be able to choose its administrators, while centralised administration should be abolished to allow LAOs to manage their budgets and resources efficiently,” she added.
Parit Wacharasindhu, Move Forward Party’s communications and policy campaign manager who accompanied Pannika on Monday, added that the petition was not submitted in the name of Progressive Movement or Move Forward Party, but should be viewed as a “petition of the people”.
“Whether the MPs and senators would agree to amend the constitution or not, we will continue to push for the decentralisation of power in Thailand,” he insisted.
Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit had earlier said that the petition is pushing for the following five changes:
1. LAOs to have power over all public services except national finance, military and foreign affairs.
2. Reduction of overlapping duties among LAOs, regional and central authorities.
3. LAOs to be allocated 50 per cent of the national budget.
4. LAOs to have full jurisdiction without intervention from regional and central authorities.
5. Local people to be able to participate in public hearings on important local issues, and to vote to remove local administrators. Citizen councils to be established to supervise budget planning and allocation.
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