Five manufacturers of instant noodles are urging Thailand’s Internal Trade Department to speed up consideration of their demand for a price increase on instant noodles, from 6 to 8 baht, to compensate for increased production costs.

The five manufacturers, Mama, YumYum, Wai Wai, Nissen and Suesat, claim that their retail prices have not been adjusted since 2008, despite the fact that the prices of the raw materials, such as wheat and palm oil, have steadily increased.

In a joint statement issued yesterday (Monday), they said that they could not accept a compromise, which would allow them to adjust the price for each packet by just one baht, because the production cost for each packet has already increased by more than one baht per packet.

They claim that the producer of YumYum has suffered a loss for the first time in 40 years of operations.

They also claim that the price of palm oil has increased threefold, while the price of wheat has doubled, due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, excluding other ingredients used in the production, such as chili and garlic, whose prices have also gone up.

If their request for a price adjustment is rejected again by the Internal Trade Department, the five manufacturers say that they have a plan to adjust their sales strategy to reduce the risk of loss by putting more emphasis on export markets, where there are no price restrictions.

Earlier, Director-General of the Internal Trade Department Wattanasak Sur-iam said that the department is fully aware of the problem faced by the manufacturers and the fact that they have been trying to freeze their retail prices in order not to burden their consumers.

He said, however, that the department will consider their request for a price adjustment on case-by-case basis, on the principle that the producers can carry on with their business and the consumers will be least affected.