Giant retail and wholesale stores in Thailand are maintaining the old price of sugar following a recent hike of 2 THB (56 US cents); however, they have carried out measures to prevent hoarding of the sweet commodity.
Sacks of sugar on display at a hypermarket (Photo: bangkokpost)
Bangkok (VNA) – Giant retail andwholesale stores in Thailand are maintaining the old price of sugar following arecent hike of 2 THB (56 US cents); however, they have carried out measures toprevent hoarding of the sweet commodity.
The Thai Cabinet on November 14 approved the Cane and Sugar Board’s proposal toincrease the retail price of sugar by 2 THB per kilogramme.
Initially, the board wanted to raise theprice of sugar by 4 THB per kilogramme from the end of October to keep up withthe rising global price, but the Cabinet put this on hold for two weeks bydeclaring sugar a controlled commodity.
Aswin Techajareonvikul, chief executive officer and president of Big C Retail Corporation,said on November 15 that Big C stores have adequate stocks of sugar and will continueto sell at the old price.
However, the retailer capped the buying limit of each household to 3 bags of 1kilogramme,which cost from 24-25 THB each.
The measure is to make sure that all familieshave access to sugar, he said, adding Big C has partnered with several sugarproducers to prevent shortages or supply chain problems.
The operator of Lotus’s stores also said thecompany will maintain the old price of sugar but will limit each customer to 3-kilogrammebags per day to make sure that the stock is adequate for all clients.
Meanwhile, the operator of GO Wholesale, awholesale centre for food entrepreneurs, said that a cap has been placed on thepurchase of sugar, which is being sold at the old price.
Enterprises can buy up to 1 sack (25 kilogrammes)per day, while general customers can buy up to 5 bags of one kilogramme perday, it said./.
The Office of the Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB) of Thailand estimated the sugar cane output for the 2022 - 2023 crop year increased just 1.9% to 93.8 million tonnes, lower than forecast due to drought and more farmers switching to cassava cultivation.
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Sacks of sugar on display at a hypermarket (Photo: bangkokpost) 
