Get ready to say goodbye to Thailand’s 30 baht per litre price cap on diesel on May 1. Starting on Sunday, the price will be 32 baht per litre, according to the Oil Fuel Fund Office. Thailand’s permanent secretary for energy said the current 11 baht subsidy per litre is falling to 9.6 baht per litre.
Officials from Thailand’s energy ministry have warned for the past week that the price is set to surge in May. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said the Fuel Oil Fund which has been helping keep the price down is now hugely depleted. On Tuesday, Thailand’s Energy Minister said the retail price is now at 40 baht per litre, although he stressed that the government will try to raise the price slowly.
Now, Prayut calls on the public to have sympathy for the government, insisting that the government has limited control over prices. But Thailand’s truck drivers are angry, and a group of them rallied in front of Government House in Bangkok yesterday to insist the government keep the 30 baht per litre cap. They called for the Energy Minister, Supattanapong Punmeechaow, to be removed.
Demands also include reducing the excise tax on fuel to 0.20 baht per litre, to equal that on aviation fuel. The truckers called for removing biodiesel from the system, which will help reduce the price by 1.5-2 baht per litre, as biodiesel prices are as high as 56.4 baht per litre. The president of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand, and representatives of transport operators, submitted a letter addressed to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to a government representative.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post