The Commerce Ministry has approved a request by instant noodle makers to increase their products’ prices by one baht per pack from Thursday.
Major brand instant noodle makers Mama, Wai Wai, and Yum Yum have requested an increase in their products’ prices to cope with rising production costs.
According to the Internal Trade Department’s director-general Wattanasak Sur-iam, the proposal was approved after the department carefully analyzed how much the three brands were spending on production. The study included costs for raw materials such as wheat and palm oil, labor, packaging, and energy.
The Internal Trade Department determined that production costs had increased as the manufacturers claimed. However, officials said the first-proposed two-baht increase per package was too high.
“The department considered a hike by two baht per packet, from six baht to eight baht, proposed by the instant noodle makers as too high, with such a hefty increase affecting low-income earners in particular,” Mr. Wattanasak stated.
Last week, the makers behind Thailand’s five largest instant noodle brands – Wai Wai, Nissin, Yum Yum, Mama, and Suesat – submitted a jointly signed letter asking the Internal Trade Department to authorize instant noodle prices to rise from six baht to eight baht per pack.
The group included Thai President Foods Plc, Yum Yum instant noodles’ manufacturer Wan Thai Foods Industry Co, Wai Wai instant noodles’ maker and distributor Thai Preserved Food Factory Co, Nissin instant noodle brand Nissin Foods (Thailand), and Suesat instant noodles’ manufacturer Chokchaipibul.
Each company sought approval to raise their product’s selling prices from mid-2021 after costs to acquire raw materials used to produce the noodles skyrocketed.
Mama, Wai Wai, and Yum Yum brands have been authorized to increase their instant noodles’ prices by one baht.
The Internal Trade Department has yet to decide whether to allow Nissin noodles to increase in price, as Nissin Foods (Thailand) has already submitted detailed reports on its production costs.
The increase for Suesat instant noodles is still pending approval, as Chokchaipibul has not submitted details on cost structure to the department.
