Chachoengsao:The Democrat Party has raised concerns about the impact of recent floods on the cost of living, urging the government to expedite relief efforts for farmers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The party has also introduced a "Watchdog" app to help monitor commodity prices.
According to Thai News Agency, the Democrat Party, represented by Dr. Kardee Leowpairoj and Mr. Korn Chatikavanij, deputy party leaders, alongside their policy design and research team, issued a statement highlighting the exacerbation of the cost of living crisis due to the floods, particularly affecting the food supply chain.
Dr. Kardee explained that surveys and data from the Department of Livestock Development indicated significant damage to livestock farms in eastern provinces such as Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Nakhon Nayok, and Prachinburi. In Chachoengsao, 14 egg-laying farms were completely destroyed, leading to a loss of over 3 million breeding hens and a daily reduction of approximately 2.5 million eggs in the market, accounting for a 5-6% decrease in supply. Rising feed prices are expected to impact consumers, small retailers, and SMEs within 1-2 weeks.
Ms. Vivian suggested that the government quickly disclose damage assessments and commodity prices to prevent price gouging. She recommended coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Commerce to manage essential raw materials for retailers and SMEs, and to support the provision of laying hens and vegetable seeds to restore production. Additionally, she urged the removal of credit restrictions for affected businesses and the acceleration of compensation payments using satellite imagery and government apps to reduce paperwork.
Mr. Korn noted that the cost of living for the public may contradict the government's reported inflation figure of 2-2.5 percent. Diesel prices have risen nearly 40 percent compared to last year, while farm-gate prices of pork, chicken, and eggs have increased by 10-20 percent. He proposed reducing excise and value-added taxes on fuel to potentially lower retail prices at gas stations by about 7-8 baht per liter, rather than relying on the heavily indebted Fuel Fund.
The Democrat Party also proposed a "Monitoring" application to enable the public to report and track commodity prices in their areas, providing data to address the cost of living issues.