Minimum wage hikes unlikely to impact Thai goods pricing significantly

The Commerce Ministry’s planning unit has weighed in on the ongoing debate regarding the impact of minimum wage increases on domestic goods and services, suggesting that such hikes are unlikely to significantly influence the pricing landscape.

Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, the director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), has argued that a rise in the daily minimum wage by an average of 2.37% to 345 baht (US$9.8) would only marginally increase inflation, bringing it to a range of 0.13 to 0.25%.

Poonpong conceded that the effect of such wage adjustments would differ across industries, particularly based on the levels of labour intensiveness. He proposed that industries with considerable labour costs might have to streamline their expenditures, while sectors with fierce competition might only witness negligible price…